Never send a man to do a woman's job
by Queen Luana
Summary: RE4: Alex Grace, a bad ass agent with a reputation, is sent out to Europe to retrieve Ashley Graham. She's armed with a gun and sharp sarcasm and needs no one to assist her, so that Kennedy bloke better steers clear. T for language and mild gore.
1. Chapter 1

**Queen Luana :** Never send a man to do a woman's job. Cause then you'll get lame 'bingo' cracks. Okay it was funny. But the way he put it wasn't, I mean, he was so… Anywho! I want to try this from a woman's point of view. A real _bad-ass_ woman's point of view. The kind of woman who goes on these sort of missions to get her kicks. How about the president had sent Alex Grace to do the zombie blasting? Well, they're not exactly zombies, I know, but, oh shut up and read the damn chapter already!

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**The girl with the gun**

I took the cigarette the driver offered me and lit it with my Zippo. I slid my thumb across the inscription on the side. "Love, dad." I chuckled and took a long satisfying drag. At least he wasn't bitching about it everyday, like mum.

Don't smoke, Alex. It's not good for you, Alex. Someday it'll kill you, Alex. Earth to mum, I'm a special agent trying to get back the president's daughter from a practically unknown location where God knows who has taken her. If this doesn't kill me then something else most likely will. I clenched the cigarette between my lips and pulled out my gun. Colt .45, my dearest friend in these outlands.

"You're not taking any risks, huh, stranger?" the guy in the passenger's seat asked when he saw me fumble with my weapon.

I smiled and took the cigarette between my fingers. "If you've seen what I seen," I said and blew the smoke out the half-open window, "you don't leave your bed without one of these." I twirled the gun around my index finger then tucked it away in its holster. I gazed out of the window and faintly saw my own reflection aside the bypassing trees. If I had known I was about to embark on anything as serious as this I wouldn't have gotten dreadlocks. I'd seen the president's face go blank when I marched in: tank top, cargo pants and the dreadlocks and pierced lip to finish it off. He'd probably expected somebody slightly more sophisticated. But hey, it would've been pretty ridiculous of I had dressed in neat pants and blazer then to find the head of a post teen hippie on top of it. No thank you, I'll just go the whole hog.

So I didn't look the type. But the division highly recommended me. I'd cleaned up some pretty big messes before: terrorism, sects… I was even involved in the Raccoon incident, though few people knew I was. I was part of the research them after S.T.A.R. had been investigating the vicinity of the mansion where the strange incidents had occurred. There had been some stuff rotting outside and two members of our team were attacked by a bunch of raging dogs. We had managed to take them out but Mailer and Cage had died in the hospital afterwards.

Yeah, I was cut for the job. And if anyone dared bringing up that Kennedy bloke again I'd kill somebody. Partners, yeah right. I could handle this. Alex Grace works alone.

The car shrieked to a halt. "The village is not too far off," the driver turned to me, "we'll take you there."

"Thanks, but I'll manage," I muttered. I tossed away the butt and got out of the car.

"Okay, but don't get your pretty face hurt."

Grumbling I took off and followed the trail leading through the forest. I jolted when my cell phone rang. "Bloody nerves…" I flipped it open. "This is Grace."

"Hello, Alex. I'm Hunnigan I'll be guiding you through this mission."

"Aw, please," I uttered. "I thought the division trusted me."

"I'm just helping you get around. I've got access to satellite pictures and detailed information on…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said, "what news?"

Hunnigan cleared her throat. "Nothing, I was just checking whether you've gotten there by now."

"Yes, on my way to the village now," I said then rubbed my hand over the microphone. "Wow, I'm in a tunnel here!" I flicked it close again. Okay, I admit it, bad excuse. But at least now I'd made it clear that I didn't require her help. I'd manage on my own, thank you very much. Throughout the trees I spotted a small cottage. It seemed pretty old. Okay, perhaps I could get something here. Perhaps some information on Ashley's whereabouts and a nice cup of tea. Yeah, I had thought from the beginning this wouldn't go as smoothly as I hoped it would.

I knocked but there was no response. Maybe it was abandoned. I pushed the door open. When I stepped in I heard the cracking of firewood and carefully followed the corridor leading into a small living room. A man stood a few feet away from me, leaning over the fireplace. I looked around. Hadn't he heard me knock? Did he in fact know I was standing there?

I put my gun back in its holster. Okay, the polite way.

"Hola, señor," I greeted him with the little Spanish I knew.

He turned and stared at me. My hand already reached for the gun, but I restrained myself. No need to shoot him just because he looks scary and urgently needs a shower. Or maybe I should've just thought twice about wearing a short, belly button revealing, B-cup accentuating top. Hey, when they told me Spain, I thought sun, sea and parasols. And then they drop me off in this… thing.

"Hablo inglès?" I tried. Those two words were probably more grammatically incorrect than my little brother's English assignment, but as long as he understood me I guess it was fine.

"Qué carajo estás haciendo aquí? ¡Lárgate, cabrón!" he snapped at me.

I sucked at Spanish badly and had failed almost every course in school. But damn, I remembered enough to understand that. "Hey mind, the language mister," I said but he'd already turned around. "I'm an American secret agent and if you don't cooperate you will force me to- HOLY!" As I had gone on preaching he had turned towards me again, now holding an axe in one hand. _Now_ I was allowed to grab my gun. "Drop it!" But instead he walked forward, almost determined to chop me into pieces. "Drop it or I'll-" Too late. He roared and swung and I fired. He staggered backwards, looked at me almost in surprise. He prepared for another swing and I fired three more shots into his chest, then he finally collapsed.

I walked over to him and jabbed him with my foot. He was dead all right. I took a closer look. Man, he reeked! There was yelling outside. Great…

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**Queen Luana: **I don't know whether I'll keep on going with this story. If there's no one reading/reviewing it I'll just delete it again. Ashley and Leon make their entrance into the story in it later on, but for the first chapters it'll be just Alex. I do not intend following the entire storyline precisely but often it will, in my own special way. Just tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

**Queen Luana:** Well I got two reviewers asking me to continue so I will. Glad you like it. I feel all happy and fluffy inside, but never mind that, time for some serious zombie bashing and being bad. The first chapter was short since it was just a tryout. The following chapters will be longer.

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**A warm welcome**

Just as I leapt up the stairs my cell phone rang again. Not now, damn it, I'm pretty busy here. I just reached the threshold when loud screams and the shrieking of tires drew my attention. I ran over to the one window on the upper floor and looked outside. But by that time the noise had stopped. Not good… I looked down. Well, fortune favours the bold, as my dad always said. I slid the window open and dropped down, bending through my knees and rolling over the floor to soften the landing.

Yeah, I learned how to jump through closed windows at the academy, but hell I wasn't going to do it if it wasn't necessary! Necessary being not being able to open the darn thing, being in a hurry or somebody being around to see how cool it is.

I got to my feet and rubbed the dried leaves off my bum when I was startled by a yell and as I turned I saw two men approaching me, the same hostility in their eyes as the former one. "Come on, now, guys," I said with a smile and took my gun, "you wouldn't hurt a pretty little girl like me now, would you?" And if they would, perhaps three bullets to the head would help them reconsider.

While they decomposed at high speed, my cell rang yet again, pressing me to answer it so I did. "Yeah?"

"Alex? Is everything ok?" Hunnigan, oh joy.

"Yeah some of the locals just arrived to welcome me," I said cheerfully. "A real happy bunch, we sat down and ate some cake together. You want me to put them on the phone?"

"I can't help but detecting a hint of sarcasm in that," Hunnigan said then sighed. "Hostile locals, okay. Just follow the trail; it'll lead you towards the village. I'll contact you when you get there."

I hung up and followed the path as she had told me to. This day sucked. Big time. But better not show her any dislike concerning this operation or she'll send Kennedy after me. Besides dying, that's the one thing I want to avoid. I woke from my daydreaming by a soft yelping and when I turned I saw I had just passed a wolf, his leg stuck in a bear trap.

I kneeled down next to him, keeping my distance in case he'd bite. But he seemed to be in too much pain to even notice my presence. Blood oozed down his hind leg and the wound only seemed to be getting worse when he tried to free himself. "Poor thing," I mumbled, pulled the trap open and when he had withdrawn his leg I released it. It slammed shut instantly. The dog limped off rather quickly and I resumed my walk.

My cell rang again. "If it's that Hunnigan _again_ I swear I'll…" My foot ticked something and I heard a loud clang. I shrieked and jumped back. Okay, what just happened? When my heart stopped racing I saw I had accidentally hit, indeed, another bear trap. I turned around. I had stuck to the path. Why would anyone place a trap like this on the path? I studied the dried leaves. And what sick person would try to cover it up? Watching more closely now I saw two more of them, both covered in leaves and twigs.

There was a yell and I saw that another friendly local had raised his axe to charge me. I took a few steps back from the bear traps and raised my gun. "Bring it, handsome." It was only when I levelled the barrel with my eye that I saw something was off.

A wire was tightened between two threes. It was black and fairly unable to notice, but it was there. I ran a glance across the wire and found that it was attached to explosives at both sides. Even though the wire was well camouflaged, these yellow sticks of dynamite were blaringly obvious. How could I have missed them? I focussed back on the enemy and smiled almost evilly.

I took a few steps back and fired a well-aimed shot at the left tree. My assailant screamed and was blown onto the ground where it lay still for a moment, before dissolving. I tucked away my gun. Better mind my step here. I carefully stepped over the bear traps and increased my pace. The rest of the road went rather smoothly. Sometimes I was startled by a couple of crows bursting into the air. Really, this place gave me the creeps.

I waited in a front a massive gate. I placed my hands on my hips and looked up. "This is it, huh?" I took my gun. "Let's party." I pushed the door open and stood, to my amazement not in the village, but at the beginning of another path leading me deeper into the woods. Anti-climax, much? With a sigh I closed the door again and trotted down. I got my adrenaline pumped up and now I wanted action. Hardcore, scull bashing, limb chopping, chest impaling action. And much to my glee I got my action. I hid behind a tree trunk and peeked around the edge.

There was the village, with people walking from house to house. There were chickens, people with haycarts. A mere village no one passing by would fear. Luckily for me, I wasn't someone passing by. I wouldn't be caught off guard by a bloke with a pitchfork.

Okay, now, there were two ways to approach this. Either I'd try to sneak my way around it or I'd run in headfirst, use some catchy line and then give a new meaning to the word 'perforate'. I took my gun with a snigger and headed for the village entrance.

Like hell I was going to do this _delicately_.

It only took me a couple of minutes to realize that, once again, I'd gotten myself waist down into trouble. Into numerous, rash, axe and pitchfork-wielding trouble.

I kicked an axe out of the hand of the nearest aggressor, really thankful for that Martial Arts week in high school, gashed open his gut with my knife, then fled into the nearest cabin. I shut the door, shove a closet in front of it and then hurried up the stairs. Out of a window I shot down two of those, well, _things_, then reloaded. As I did I heard a crush downstairs and realised with just the slightest discomfort that it had been the sound of a closet hitting the floor.

Faith has a dark sense of humour. Always when you think it can't get any worse, it does. There I sat, entrenched behind a bloody bed, taking aim at the first villager crawling up the stairs when the cell phone of doom rang again. For some reason the noise seemed to agitate them so I had no choice put to pick it up, press it against my ear with one hand, shooting down brainless villagers with the other.

"Alex? Alex, what's going on in there?"

"Hunnigan, guess what," I said while I shot one of them in the knee. "Running into a village crowded with people carrying pitchforks and axes? Bad idea!"

"You need me to send help?"

No, absolutely fucking no. Help meant testosterone and testosterone meant Kennedy. "I don't need help," I snapped as I fired my last bullet into the forehead of an approaching farmer. "I need a bigger gun and both my hands!" I dropped the cell and reached in my pocket for my very last packet of ammo, reloaded as fast as I could and shot two more of them who had gotten dangerously close. What if I ran out of ammo? Run for it? Dive through the open window? Charge at them with a knife?

Three more stepped into the room. "Do you people really have nothing better to do?" I asked almost desperately. There was moaning up the stairs. More were coming. Here I go then. I took a few steps back and with the sound of them roaring I rushed forward, covered my face with my arms and dived straight through the open window. I rolled over the muddy ground and quickly got back on my feet. Shit.

They had in fact surrounded me and drew closer. I couldn't even run for it. I only had three bullets left!

The bell chimed and the villagers turned. For a moment they stood quite still, then they walked away as if I had just dissolved into thin air. I didn't dare to lower my gun yet. Only watched in amazement how they simply left.

I could hear them mutter 'la campana' before they all entered a building and closed the door behind them. After looking around, making sure all of them had indeed left I lowered my gun and straightened. "Feeling just a little left out here…" I searched for my cell and realised I had probably left it in the cabin after dropping it. I hurried back inside, still on my guard. When I reached the second floor I found something hanging against the wall and cursed myself for not having seen it in the first place.

A shotgun was neatly suspended against the wall. "Pretty…" I mumbled and carefully took it. The metal felt cool in my sweaty hands and I loaded it. "This could come in handy." I looked around. Why were they attacking me with pitchforks when they had a perfectly good shotgun? Now _that_ would've been tricky. I laughed quietly. I could've died four minutes ago.

I heard my cell ring and quickly scanned the floor. I dropped to my knees and found it, ringing and flashing underneath the bed. I clipped it open. "This is Grace."

"Oh, Alex, it's good to hear you're okay, after that last call I was starting to worry," I heard the woman at the other end.

"It takes more than a couple of unfriendly locals to take me down," I boasted even thought I had actually been worrying myself. "Just tell me where to go next."

"There's a tower in the village. Just follow the trail next to it."

"Tower, trail, piece of cake," I smiled and trotted down the stairs. "I'll just have another look around the village and then I'm on my way. Bye now." I tucked the cell away pleading that she'd leave me be for a while. Only now, when I stepped outside and took a closer look at the large fire in the centre of the village, I saw a man hanging from the middle lodge, chest impaled. I could just vaguely percept the blue uniform and cap he was wearing.

"Shit…" I muttered. When I'd said chest impaling, I meant the bad guys' chests. I shook my head sadly. I should've let him tag along.

When I searched the village I found that they had ammo, well, practically everywhere. Whether in closets or just lying on the kitchen table, these people had enough to equip a small army. Which was good for me, cause it diminished my worries on needing to wipe out an army of hostile farmers with a _knife_.

Taking I had wandered about for too long, I took Hunnigan's advice and searched for the trail. I reached another gate not after too long and headed in. I closed it carefully and found myself in an actually farm. There were two large barns and I heard a cow moo. A chicken was startled by my sudden step forward and ran off cackling loudly. Stupid lousy chicken, she'll ruin my…

"Aaarh!"

Cover. Okay then; let's see if this shotgun here proves itself worthy.

I never should've called killing people with a handgun 'blasting'. Using a shotgun; now _that_ was blasting. Somehow I had found it quite amusing to wait for them to get really close and then blast them several feet away again. Call it dark, call it sadistic, but I _loved_ it. After having found myself at a nearly helpless position being surrendered to the mercy of the bells, I was glad to have the power again.

I shuffled past the bear traps some lunatic had placed in the barn (no seriously, what the fuck?) and climbed up the ladder. When climbing through the open window I saw two gates. Two. Now what? No, I wasn't going to call Hunnigan. I'd rather take a quick guess and chance walking straight of a cliff than calling Hunnigan.

"When in doubt," I told myself as I dropped of the edge and walked towards the gate I had chosen, "always choose the right path."

I found another path leading downwards and cautiously made way down. I came across a weird looking signpost. "Well, at least it's leading somewhere…" I muttered. The ground shook and when I turned and looked up I saw three villagers pushing down an immense rock and a round one at that too. Bugger…

With the giant rock rolling down at high speed, only a few feet behind me, I ran as fast as I could go. I could feel myself stumbling, tripping, leaning dangerously forward. I took a last sprint then dived away. The rock rolled passed and shattered against the cliff wall. I remained seated to regain my breath. These people really wanted me dead didn't they? I peered back up the path. The villagers had disappeared. Better stay focused here.

I got to my feet but my legs were still shaking slightly so I leaned against a tree. Just breathe, Alex. It'll go just fine. I waited for another two minutes or so, then continued walking. Things passed by pretty quietly and for a moment I actually got the idea that they'd given up. Come on, Alex, get real. They're mindless walking killers. They don't know what giving up is. They might not even be aware of what they're doing…

I walked into a tunnel and a cold breeze chilled me to the bone. I really should've brought along a coat. Honestly what had I been thinking? That I could seduce them into telling me where Ashley was? Christ, Ashley, I'd almost forgotten about her. Too much stressing out. I arrived at the end of the tunnel, but used the darkness to stay covered and observe the vicinity. I could see one of them standing a few yards away from me and even further away was a small house. I could try and head towards it, perhaps seek shelter there. But then I saw the yellow explosives.

This thing was a minefield; I'd have to watch my steps. Let's just start at trying to shoot that one guy. I took my handgun and aimed. A red dot danced on his forehead but he didn't seem to notice. Here I go, back into the madness. I hit him right between the eyes, but it wasn't enough, and now he was aware of my presence. I took aim again but waited. What was he doing?

I felt my heart thumping in my throat when I saw sparks and realized he had dynamite. Freakin' dynamite. He raised it above his head; I took a wild shot and was able to hit him in the side. It didn't kill him, but dazed him long enough for the fuse to burn up and the dynamite to blow him into pieces. That's one.

I stepped out of my hiding place, aimed at the yellow explosives and when they too blew up I could hear another scream. I saw others approaching, checked for any other yellow explosives and then decided to take my chances and run for it, not even considering that the high grass could be a cover for any bear traps. I just ran, towards the house.

I burst into the door and quickly closed it and locked it behind me. It was a steal door; they wouldn't get in that way. But my heart was not yet at ease. I could hear thumping, coming from somewhere inside the house. I raised my gun again and shuffled across the room carefully. I stepped into a small corridor in which they had placed the same wired explosives and I sneaked underneath them and stepped into the next room, again sneaking underneath a stretched black wire.

The thumping grew louder, whatever it was, I was getting close. I approached a bookcase. Could it be coming from behind it? Cautiously I pushed it away and revealed another hidden room. Almost empty except for a closet and a table. Whatever it was, it was looked inside the old wooden thing. I stepped forward, gun at the ready and outstretched my arm. "Here goes…"

I opened the closet and quickly jumped backwards, gun raised. But the person that had just dropped onto the floor was tied up and his mouth was taped shut. I took a deep breath and tucked away my gun. The stranger eyed me curiously. He had raven black, shoulder length hair and dark friendly eyes. I kneeled down next to him. "You're not one of them, are you?"

He blinked then shook his head. I took the tape and pulled it off.

"Ouch," he said and chuckled. "Little rough don't you think?" He managed to sit up straight and I crouched behind him to untie his hands.

"What's your name and why were you in there?"

He smiled. "You're not really the patient type huh?" he said. "I'm Luis." He rubbed his wrists and got up straight. "You seem lost."

"Lost?"

Luis smirked. "Why would an attractive girl as yourself be in a grim place like— ho, easy!"

My barrel pressed against his chin had silenced him. I smiled sweetly. "Why were you in there, Luis?"

"You… are the distrustful type, huh?" he asked as I drove him back against the wall, finger at the trigger of my Colt.

"Call it careful," I smiled.

"Careful?" He laughed. "Nah, you seem more reckless than careful. As for why I was in there…" He looked at something behind me. "Perhaps you'd better ask him."

I thought it was some sort of lame trick, only then I felt the floorboards tremble underneath the loud footsteps of something big. I turned and gasped. A monstrous man had entered. His head was only an inch or two away from the ceiling and he was bald, with a long beard. His massive body was clad in a long grey cloak. Behind him stood two of the villagers.

One hand kept Luis nailed to the wall, the other held the gun and aimed it at the newcomer. "Who are you?"

He didn't answer, only grumbled and walked closer. I released Luis, as I needed the other hand to support the gun. The red dot swirled around on his chest and I fired.

The guy didn't even flinch.

Stunned and unable to move, I watched as he drew closer and finally lifted me from the ground at my neck. I desperately clutched for his hand and tried to force it open but his grip was too strong and it squeezed my trachea shut. I kicked my legs, saw black dots dancing in front of my eyes, blurring my sight. I gasped for air but nothing would come.

John…

With a strong movement he tossed me aside and I smacked into a human being. At first I thought it was a villager, but instead of a foul stench I smelled the faint remains of a male perfume. Luis? Then I lost consciousness.

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**Queen Luana:** The background of Alex Grace will be elaborated in further chapters. I'm doing it one step at a time since I don't really know how to illustrate it. I know what her past was like; I just need to work out the details. Either way, review; tell me what you think and what could be improved.


	3. Chapter 3

**Queen Luana: **Here we go, the third chapter. Let's see what Alex gets herself into next.

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**The church**

_The barking grew louder, nearer._

"_Alex, stay close."_

_Then a scream._

My body jolted and my eyes shot open while a scream escaped my mouth. I felt sweat trickling down my face as I drew breath and observed the environment. I was in another grim looking cabin, not in that wretched forest. This was the cursed village inhabited by some fairly aggressive people.

"You okay?"

I tried to move my hands but the coldness of the chains told me I was tied up. And the faint musk told me I was tied up with Luis. It all came back.

"I'm fine," I said and now checked the room for anything that could get us loose. This room was different from the one I'd been standing in before.

"Bad dream?"

"Yeah."

He chuckled. "This place sort of does that to you, huh?"

"I fear the dreams more than this place," I mumbled and he laughed.

"Just as I thought, you're a tough girl," he said. "How about you introduce yourself, while looking for a way out?"

"Alex Grace," I said. "I'm a secret agent sent out to find Ashley Graham, the president's daughter."

"Americano, that explains the attitude," he smiled. "What's she look like?"

I sniggered. "Young, blonde and she doesn't try to eat your brains out. You can't miss her."

Luis laughed then we were silent while I twisted and turned on the spot. I found nothing that could help us get loose. We could be in here for hours. In fact I was starting to wonder how long I'd been out cold. Light still broke through the windows so either I'd been out for a day, or for not more than a couple of hours.

"I used to be a cop myself," Luis finally said to break the silence. You don't say. "Back in Madrid. Now I'm nothing but a ladies man."

I nudged him with my elbow.

"You know," he then said. "Come to think about it, I think I overheard the villagers say something about a church. Might find young Ashley there."

I hushed him.

"What?"

"Hush!" I leaned sideways a little and listen carefully. I'd been hearing it for some time now, but now it had grown louder. "What is that?"

"If you ask me, it's an axe scraping over the floor."

"You're fucking kidding me," I said through gritted teeth when one of the villagers stepped into the clear, dragging a long axe behind him, entirely covered in blood. "Any ideas?" I asked Luis as the man slowly made his way towards us, eager on chopping off a head and maybe even a limb while he's at it.

"You're the secret agent!"

"Oh, that is so typically men," I said as we struggled to get free. "Always rambling on about how superior you are, smarter, stronger… But then when it comes to it!"

"Will you save the sexism for later, sweet cheeks?" Luis pleaded as the bloodthirsty villager raised the axe above his head with a roar.

"Pull!" I cried and we both pulled away, leaving the axe to break our chains. I rolled forward over the floor, pressed my back against the wall and found my gun. Thank God, they hadn't taken it! I aimed it at his forehead as he stormed at me, stretching out his arms and roaring. A shot to the neck and another one to the head made him change his mind and he dropped to the floor. I could just see Luis making his way to the door.

"Hey!" I cried after him and he waited in the doorway. "Isn't this the moment where you ask whether I'll be needing any help?"

He stopped and smirked. "Nah, you're bold enough to look after yourself." He winked and left.

I smiled softly and tucked away my gun. At last somebody who understands. I sauntered through the house. Time to find out exactly where I was, what time it was and how I'd get back on track. I took my cell and flicked it open. 2 PM. They had picked me up from the airport at seven in the morning. I hadn't been out for too long.

I slowly opened the front door and scanned the area. Apparently the house I was in had been surrounded by a wall. A little to my right I saw a hole in it and step-by-step walked over. "Bloody hell…" There was an entire construction of ladders, bridges and cabins where dozens of those weird looking people were roaming around. They all seemed quite at ease. How had Luis gotten past them? I hadn't heard any screams.

I wiped the sweat of my forehead. Mysterious type, that Luis.

Once again it was time to make a decision. Either I'd camp down here and do some good old-fashioned sniping, rather tricky without a rifle. Or I'd do it my way and storm through that gate, shotgun at hands.

I loaded and kicked the door open. The sound of it smacking against the stone wall alarmed the villagers and there was a chorus of angry yells and footsteps running over the shabby wooden bridges. Come and get me.

Most of the time I stayed stationed near the gate, diving behind it to evade any axes or dynamite soaring through the air. But after some while I stormed down, shooting everyone who got in my way. I didn't have time to deal with all these people! I had to get back to the village and find a church. I hadn't seen a church anywhere! Couldn't that Luis have been a little more specific? Darn it, I'd have to call Hunnigan, I already felt it.

I made my way across the mining area then fought my way through several paths and cabins, trying not too waste too much time. I wanted to find Ashley before night fell. Shit, I just wanted to get out of this place as fast as possible.

My path of destruction had led me underground and up into what seemed to be a small mansion. It was clean and in a good state of repair, unlike all the other houses I'd seen. As I left one of the rooms and stepped into a corridor I could hear voices. They were muffled and Spanish so I had to listen very carefully in order to understand just the slightest bit.

The floor croaked behind my back. I turned, ready to fire but only a split second later I was dangling several feet off the ground, throat clenched shut by the same large guy from before. He glared at me as I gasped for air. My gun had dropped to the floor where it lied pointlessly. Just as I though I would faint again, he dropped me and I banged hardly onto the ground, gasping and coughing. I curled up into a ball while he spoke to me.

"You carry the same blood as us, it seems. Never the less, you're an outsider. Just remember if you become unpleasant to our eyes, you'll face severe consequences." I heard his footsteps leaving and pressed my forehead against the cool polished wooden floor.

Same blood?

As I walked down the stairs my assumption was proven to be right. This house was different. The table was neatly set and a calm atmosphere filled the room. I would've absolutely loved to stay here for a while to rest and get my nerves back. Really, even when the floor creaked underneath my own feet I leapt into the air and pulled my gun. Unfortunately, I was on a mission. And who knew? If it took too long I might have to _team up_. Shudder.

I opened the mansion's backdoor a little too loudly and startled two of the villagers in the far distance. Then I heard a noise that was painfully familiar.

"Great, chainsaw," I grunted and took aim at the jute bag which my aggressor had pulled over his head and fired. He staggered backwards, then continued storming at me. "All right then," I mumbled and pulled out my shotgun. "Have it your way, big guy." I fired, sending the other villager off his feet as well, and as soon as he got up I fired again. So he was though, big deal, cause I was loaded. I was able to take him out after a few more shots then continued my way for the village.

"Why would I care about my bad reputation," I sang as I entered the village again and immediately sent two of the locals flying through the air. Hell, I could really use some tough girl background music. After helping a guy with an axe off a roof in my own efficient way I headed for the building the lot had disappeared in on my first arrival. I banged the metal door but it wouldn't budge. A strange insignia was crafted into its surface. There was some sort of peculiar familiarity streaming from it.

My cell rang. Great, I'd almost forgotten about the cursed thing.

"Alex! It's been hours…"

"I know, Hunnigan," I said, "no use bitching about it. I need you to tell me where to find a church. Got a hunch Ashley's in there."

"Well, you're back in the village I see," she said. "There's a church north from… Hang on, who gave you that information?"

"The first friendly face I ran into here," I said. "I think I know how to get to that notorious church. I'm standing in front of a door here, but it's locked."

"I guess you'll need a key…"

"Oh sure, we can do it the formal way," I said and rummaged through my backpack, "or we can do it my way."

"Huh?"

"There are several ways to open a locked door, dear Hunnigan," I continued. "There's the sophisticated way at which you spend lots of precious time getting your hands on a key. And then there's calling the aid of Mr. Magic stick." I popped out a stick of dynamite I had picked up back at the mines. One of my gun's victims had dropped it and well, one man's breath is another man's death, correct?

"Mr. _What?_" Hunnigan gasped as I used my Zippo to light the fuse, keeping my cell clenched between cheek and shoulder.

"Just listen very carefully now," I said and tucked the dynamite between two rocks in front of the door. "Listening, Hunnigan?" I said as I took several steps back until I was at a safe distance.

"Yes, yes."

With a smile I held the cell's mic towards the dynamite, with the other I pressed my ear closed. The dynamite exploded with a tremendous blast, sending shattered rocks in all directions. A loud clang told me the door had broken free and fallen down onto solid ground.

I put the cell to my ear again. "You got that?"

"Alex," Hunnigan breathed. "Don't _ever_ do that to me again! I'm practically deaf at one ear!"

I walked into the building and waved my hand. The room was filled with dust. "I like screwing with ya, Hunnigan."

"Ugh, I don't believe this," she muttered. "Anyway, I'll contact soon enough to check on you."

"Oh, so sweet of you to care about my well-being," I smiled as I stepped over the debris. "Grace out."

When the dust cleared I followed the corridor until I reached a ladder leading down. When I jumped down I found myself in a faintly lit underground tunnel. Great, and off goes my cell's connection. No more Hunnigan! The highlight of my day… I cleared my throat. "HA!" I waited for my echo to go quiet. No reaction. I beamed. Just a quiet walk through a tunnel. No Hunnigan, no people with axes.

I almost felt sad when I reached another letter at the far end of the tunnel and resurfaced. I was hit with the cold air and the scent of moist ground and decay. It warned me to be on my guard again. I shuffled out of the shed I was in and my heart leapt. I had reached a graveyard located on a slope, which was definitely a bad thing, but on top of the hill stood an old stereotype church. Just like the farm, seeing such a mundane building had some sense of comfort in it. The comfort didn't last long though.

I explored this new environment by shooting two people in the head. I climbed the slope cautiously, waiting for more to emerge but nothing happened. When I reached the church I looked around. "That's it?" I snapped. "This is how you guard the president's daughter? Geesh…"

I tried to push the wooden door open but it wouldn't. I tried again praying that it was jammed and that I just had to push harder but no. They weren't _that_ stupid. It was locked. "Here I thought they were being nice." I flicked open my cell. "Wow Hunnigan, I believe that was a whole minute. I thought you'd died."

"There are truly no bounds to your sarcasm, are there?" she sighed. "Any sign of Ashley yet?"

"Well, I'm standing in front of the church but there's a wedding taking place right now, I'd hate to interrupt."

"Alex…"

"The door's locked," I said. "Or barred from the inside, it's hard to tell." I crouched and observed the round imprint. "There's no keyhole but it does look like some object fits in here."

"No Mr. Magic stick?"

"Nope," I grunted and got up. "Guess I'll have to do it your way."

"Remember Alex, take whatever actions necessary to make sure Ashley's safe."

"No prob," I said, "shotgun at hand."

My search for the key drove me past a few more of axe-wielding freaks. I searched every shed I passed for an object that somewhat matched the door but found nothing, except for some spare ammo. The road brought me to an open patch surrounded by cliffs. I searched the three sheds but once again found no key. It was starting to grow darker. This was already taking longer than I wanted.

I exclaimed a yell of frustration, sending a murder of crows into the sky cawing loudly and startled. I sighed and closed my eyes. I was getting tired and I wasn't planning to keep searching throughout the entire night. Then again, I didn't feel like sleeping here either. I wanted to continue my search when something stopped. It was strange I hadn't noticed it before, but I heard a strong rumble filling the area. It was rather loud, and frighteningly near.

Then when I listened more closely, I took it to be a grumble. Something large that lived was making that sound.

I turned and stared at the tall heavy gates. I walked closer quietly. Whatever it was, it was being held in there. And taking from the looks of the gate, it was massive. I swallowed and changed directions. I'd better steer clear.

I walked down a smaller path and through a wooden gate. I followed a sloping path downwards and found myself standing in front of what seemed a labyrinth of piers. I don't care it was the president's daughter; I didn't intend to get wet here. But that pier didn't seem too stable. I moaned softly and tiptoed over the wooden boards. They were firmer than they had appeared at first.

Then there was a yell. Then shouting. Then running over wooden boards. In a matter of seconds I found myself surrounded by people carrying torches, pitchforks and axes. I looked around at them. "Lovely." I could never take them all on. Even if I could, I would lose a lot of ammo that I might still need. As I observed my surroundings looking for a plan or an escape route I saw the familiar blinking of two yellow explosives. Behind a tightened black wire, a group of about seven of them drew near.

I had to move quickly. I dived underneath the wire swiftly and as I got back on my feet I aimed my shotgun at the middle bloke. He was shot back into the water and so their line was breached. I rushed through, felt one hand attempting to clasp my arm but broke free and ran across the wooden boards. After a few seconds that seemed like centuries, an explosion was heard combined with lots of screaming. One of them had run into the wire, sending the majority flying into the air.

I chuckled and ran.

After I had gone through another gate I took my chance to catch my breath. There was another path leading down and already I feared the point at which I'd have to return and climb up the slope again. But as for now, I decided to keep going, hoping to get some lead on how to get into the church. I stopped when I reached a signpost.

"Hah," I mumbled. "Better watch my step here." I remembered passing one of them before almost being crushed by a giant boulder. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

_Crush._

Or maybe it wasn't.

I was once again running for my life as another boulder came crashing down on the narrow path. I managed to dive away yet again and landed flat faced on the hard, cold ground. Part of me didn't want to get up, but the other part knew I had to.

I reached a crossroads and quickly took a step back when I saw two villagers walking the right path, carrying a body with them. It was the other officer I'd been with. Where were they taking them?

Instead of following them and chancing getting caught I took the other path that lead up. It ended on a ledge, leaving a nice view of the o so spooky lake. I didn't know there was a lake. How interesting. I guess that meant dead end.

I crouched when I heard an engine sputtering, then after a while I saw a motorboat crossing the lake. It stopped somewhere in the middle, something was tossed into the water, then the boat soared away again. "The-?"

The water gushed up and for a split second I swore I saw some gigantic monstrous creature surfacing, before it splashed down into the water again. "Big fish…" I sighed and shook my head sadly. "And I have to cross it, don't I?"

I sauntered back to my great dismay and took the other path leading down to the lake. I would end up being swallowed by a freakin' fish. How awfully embarrassing. I wouldn't like to be the one informing my parents. My cell rang again but I decided not to pick up. I really wasn't in the mood right now. Really. I was tired and I hated fish. The two villagers had already left, but their boat was lying near the pier. I got in, studied the motor for a moment before pulling a handle that started the engine.

"Here we go…"

* * *

**Queen Luana: **I intended on following the chapters as they are selected in the game, but I thought this was long enough. The updating progress will take a little longer from now on, as I've started work two days ago. But I'd still be happy to receive some reviews!


	4. Chapter 4

**Queen Luana: **I'm glad my readers are really into Alex' spunky character. More sarcastic catch phrases coming right up!

* * *

**Ashley Graham**

The rumbling of the motorboat broke the silence of the lake. Through the fog lingering above the water I saw a pier at the other side of the lake and had started heading towards it. Every now and then I looked over my shoulder. But the surface was calm and only broken by the ripples left behind by my boat. I breathed in deeply.

I had to say I felt rather lost. I could be way off in my search for the church's key. And then this lake…

The first part had been the hardest. I had to restrain myself from turning back. I kept telling myself that turning back had no use, there was no other way around this lake and I would only lose valuable time trying to find one. Then once I had passed the centre of the lake, the pointlessness of turning back was official.

I hummed softly, trying to keep my mind off the monster that lurked underneath the water's surface. Perhaps it wouldn't attack me. After all, those two villagers had made it back, hadn't they? Then again, there were several harpoons lying in the boat, and I didn't take them to use it to go fishing.

I sighed and threw a glance over my shoulder. No giant fin following me so far. And the pier drew near. But hell, I should've known better than even hoping I'd make it across this thing _dry_.

Suddenly something huge flashed by me, splashing up the water and soaking me. I shrieked in surprise and pressed my back against one side of the boat. The engine died as the waves diminished and turned into ripples. I cursed. "Not now, for the love of God, not now!" I pulled the handle and it sputtered for a moment, then fell silent again. I smacked the thing with the palm of my hand. "You have got to be kidding me!" I turned around and watched the pier. It was still about a hundred yards off; I would never make it swimming.

I smacked it again. "You – stu - pid - piece – of - sh-" The engine coughed then rumbled just as it had done before. I raised my arms triumphantly. "Yes! Bloody yes!" But my victory was of short time. In the distance I saw the water rising and a giant head surfacing mouth gaping, making his way towards me. "Man, I should've tried to find a way around…" I whined. That thing was much too fast and this boat was far too slow. Then I remembered the harpoons, lying at my feet. I bent over took one of them in my wet, whether it was sweat or water, I knew not, hand and raised it above my shoulder.

"Come and get me, big boy," I mumbled. This was all about accuracy and timing. I had six harpoons so I had to be careful. I didn't expect one of them to stop this thing. And if I didn't time my throw correctly, I'd miss.

It was close now. I could already smell the foul stench of his breath. "Say cheese, fishy." I threw the harpoon with a strong swing and a scream. It soared through the air for what seemed to be a century, then it hit the beast in the head. Dark blood started spluttering out of its wound and it roared in anger, before diving under again. Please tell me it was fleeing. I watched the lake closely, waiting for any sign that it would return. I knew the drill. As soon as you think it's gone, badaboom, it's back.

I screamed when a large wave rocked the boat and threw me out. I went under and swallowed a large amount of the polluted water. I opened my eyes but hardly saw a thing. The water was too filthy to even see a hand in front of my face. Nonetheless I felt something at my foot and when looking down saw a huge shade passing by underneath me. Oh shit…

I started kicking my legs. No way I was getting gobbled up by an oversized fish. It was far too awkward.

The fresh air hit my face and I turned around quickly. It was somewhere. I found my boat just about ten yards away and made my way for it. Lots of the dirty water splashed into my mouth but I tried to ignore it. It could be right bellow me for all I knew. I felt relief rushing over me when I clasped the boat's edge. It wasn't over yet, but it was a start.

I pulled myself back in and saw that unlike me, the harpoons were still there. Five more. My legs trembled as I stood up straight again, spreading my feet to keep my balance in the rocking boat. I took another harpoon and waited for the beast to return. "Don't chicken out on me…"

It didn't. As if it had heard my call it reappeared in the distance and I steadied myself. A second harpoon left my hand and forced its way into the beast's head. Again it roared but before it had the chance to dive again I launched another harpoon. I screamed triumphantly when the monster moaned and sank back into the water. It wouldn't be coming back any time soon.

I dropped down on my bum. Thank God that was over. After gaining my breath I took the handle and steered towards the pier.

I glanced back once but saw no sign of the creature resuming its attack. It had given up. A scrawny meal like me wasn't worth three harpoons in the head.

But something wasn't quite right.

As I reached the pier my sight started to blur and I felt myself rocking back and forth in the boat. Had I actually gotten ill? I moored at the pier and stood up. Honestly, this was no time to be getting the flue-

I grunted when a searing pain shot through my abdomen. I collapsed, half in the boat, half on the pier and pressed one hand on my solar plexus. "The-" At the next jolt of pain I screamed out loud, rolling back into the boat and turning over on my back. "What the hell is…" I clenched my teeth and twisted on the spot. I had _never_ felt anything like this. If I didn't know better I'd swear I felt something moving _inside_ _me_…

One hand clenched the edge of the boat, my feet pressed tightly against the wood and I squeezed my eyes shut. "Stop it!" I cried. "STOP IT!"

* * *

I felt rain dripping on my face and soaking into my clothes. Fatigue washed over me and I found myself unable to move. Where was I? "Come on, Alex, get up," I told myself and forced my eyelids open. I stared straight into the black sky and winced when the rain hit my eyes. When I cocked my head sideways I saw the remaining harpoons and remembered where I was. The boat… I must've lost consciousness.

Waking up here made me wonder whether it had been real. Perhaps I'd just been taken down by weariness. The water sloshed into the boat and I mustered the strength to sit up straight. Had I just been overreacting or had I really felt something move in there? Well, I wasn't pregnant, that's for sure. I hadn't been laid in what, seven months or so? It had probably just been my imagination.

I crawled out of the boat and pulled myself onto the pier. The rain was pouring down heavily and the whole lake was consumed by an eery darkness. I got up and switched on the flashlight attached to my belt. Wouldn't want to be startled by one of those friendly villagers. I looked around and saw a cabin not too far away. Perhaps I could dry up in there.

I had just reached the edge of the pier when the same nausea and pain bubbled up inside me and I cramped up. "Not again…" I begged and staggered forward, aiming for the cabin. "What is this…" I hadn't been imagining it. There was something making its way through my body. I couldn't collapse here, whatever it was, I couldn't just faint here in the open. The door was within my reach. I stretched one arm and flung it open then I stumbled inside and dropped to my knees. The wind blew the door shut again and I found myself on the floor of a rusty cabin, the rain pouring down on the roof and the wind shaking the windows.

I sat there on hands and knees, hoping it would all just pass, waiting for the nausea to fade. Instead I felt like I was about to send my plane meal over the muddy floor. I retched and coughed loudly, my stomach cramped up intensely. When I opened my eyes again I found the floor was covered in dark red blood. I touched my lip and felt how it was covered in a warm fluid. I clutched the table next to me. "Help…" Then I smacked down onto the ground.

"…_John?"_

"_Leon."_

"_NO!" _

_A shot, so horrifyingly close._

"Hey, secret agent. Wake up."

Light filled the room and I rolled over on my stomach with a moan. The nausea and the pain were gone and I sighed in relief. Once again I told myself my imagination had got its hands on me.

"Oh good, you're not dead."

I blinked and looked up. First thing I could percept was the stature of a broad shouldered man with long hair crouching before me. Kennedy was the first who came to mind, but before I had even reached for my gun I smelled a faint musk and male sweat. I squinted. "Luis."

"Not the right place for a nap, if you ask me."

I sat up straight and rubbed my eyes. "I… fainted…" I coughed when something hit me in the stomach and saw it was a flask. I turned off the stopper and raised it to Luis. "Cheers." I took a slug and coughed with a grin. "I should've known better than to expect this was water…"

"Finest brandy in Spain, amigo," he smiled and sat down on a chair.

"Thank you," I said. "Wouldn't happen to have a smoke as well now, do you?"

"Hah, no, but I'd fancy one myself," he said and leaned forward. "And what is the great Alex Grace doing here lying on the floor? You Americans amaze me every time."

"I got sick," I muttered and took another slug. The alcohol burned in my throat and seemed to kill the last bit of nausea still in me. "Felt like I was gonna puke my guts out."

"Maybe it's that time of the month again."

"Ha bloody ha," I said and scowled at him but he merely chuckled and got up.

"No, I don't believe it's that," he said. "There should be some way to suppress the symptoms." He opened the door and I found it was still raining heavily. A sudden flash of lightening, followed by thunder, lighted the outside. Great, and I had just dried up. "I have some urgent business to take care of. Oh…" He reached inside his vest pocket and tossed me something round.

I caught it in one hand. It strongly resembled the insignia I had seen on the door of the church. "Where did you-"

"I have my secret passage ways here and there," he said with a smug smile. "I think it might be useful to save miss Graham. I know, I know…" I closed my mouth again. "You could've gotten this yourself. Just thought I'd save some of your precious time."

Yeah, he really was a ladies man. Or just a plain suck-up. Nonetheless, he kind of grew on me.

"Well, good luck, Alex."

"Hey, Luis." I tossed him the flask.

He caught it and waved it with a grin. "Till we meet again." He hurried off into the darkness and the wind blew the door shut.

I shook my head a little and pulled myself up at the table. Only then I saw the bloodstains on the ground. I pressed my thumb against my lip. What was happening to me…

"I hate my job," I shivered when I spotted the church. The rain had drenched me and because of the darkness consuming the land I was easily startled by hostile villagers swinging their axes and tossing their dynamite or my favourite: running at me with their arms outstretched. Eat bullet, freak.

I was nailed to the ground when I heard a grumble. No… But when I tilted my head I saw I was being approached by a couple of mere wolfs, their eyes glowing in the dark and their teeth bared. I had to laugh quietly. Pull yourself together, Alex. A few shots did it and I praised God for Greenpeace not being around. They would kill me for shooting an endangered species.

Miraculously enough, the round insignia Luis had given me actually fit the door and it opened. Thank you.

It was warm and dry inside the church and strangely enough illuminated as well, despite their obvious preference for eery dark spaces. I looked around. No one here, apparently. "Ashley?" If I was at the wrong church, bloody hell, I would burn this place to the ground. I found a ladder at the west side of the church and climbed up. Running around I found a door but it had been blocked by two fences on each side. Jolly. No way I'd get through there.

As I walked back searching for a solution I saw the large chandelier and the path on the other side. "Hello…" Time for some good old swinging and jumping. As I hopped across I wished there'd be someone around to see how cool I was. I really wouldn't have minded some villagers sitting down there watching the show. "Yeah! Girlpower!" I cried triumphantly when I reached the other side. After taking down that large fish I felt like nothing could stop me. I was one sexy cool badass bitch, baby.

I walked over to the panel that had drawn my interest before. "Red switch, blue switch, green switch…" I looked ahead and saw that same insignia that I'd seen engraved on several doors before. There were three circles beside it all lit by a strange shard like pattern in red, blue and green. "Okay. Riddle time. I like my puzzle every now and then." I studied the different colours and the pattern behind the insignia for a few moments, then smiled. "This is too easy," I said to myself as I turned the appropriate knobs and pressed the large button at the bottom. The light beams melted together and with a loud rumbling, the fences that had been blocking the door went up.

"Badaboom, baby," I smiled and rose my hands. But I lowered them rather quickly. "Wait… Isn't this the moment where a bunch of angry people rush in and I have to shoot them all before I can actually get to business?" I waited, but there was no sound of windows shattering or doors being bust down. "Okay then."

I took my handgun, since you never knew whether there would still be guards on the other side of that door. I slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open. "Ashley?"

There was a scream and something hit the door so I quickly closed it again. "And here I was thinking I was jumpy…" I tried again. "Ashley, calm down."

"Get away from me!" the young blonde shrieked and crawled into a corner.

"Relax, my name is Alex Grace," I said and tucked away my gun after I'd made sure there was no one else in the room. "I'm a secret agent, hired by your father."

At this, she brightened. "My father?" Then she pulled a confused face. "Wait… You're Alex Grace?"

"Uhu."

"Oh."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," she said and got up from the stone floor.

"Lemme guess," I said and rolled my eyes, "when you heard your father mentioning my name back in America, you thought I was some tall, blonde, muscular guy with a cocky attitude."

She bit her lip shyly.

"Believe me, sweetie, you're better off with me." I beckoned her outside. "Come, on, let's get you out of here." We walked round back to the ladder and climbed down. Thank God. I've got Ashley and I'm going home, hurrah! And no freaking madman would stand in my way. Of course, it was only after that thought that I reached the church door but my attention was drawn by a figure standing at the altar behind me, clad in a long purple cloak.

"Now how the hell are you?" I demanded.

"I'm Ozmund Saddler," he spoke as he turned around and I got a better look at his old face. "The founder of this fine religious…" He smirked. "_Community_."

"Really…" I pushed Ashley behind me. "Well, it was _exceptionally_ nice to meet you, but we'll be on our way."

I was just about to head for the door. That old man didn't scare me. What could he do? Bore me to death with stories about the war? Only then the church doors burst open and in came two more cloaked people raising crossbows.

"I'll be taking back the girl," Saddler spoke with a smirk.

I glared at him. "What do you want?"

"To show the world our enormous power, of course," Saddler said matter-of-factly. "No longer will the United States police the world at will… We kidnapped the president's daughter, so we could let her return _with our power_."

I heard Ashley gasp. "Alex, I think they shot something in my neck…"

I looked at her to check whether she was being serious then turned my attention back to Saddler. "What power? What did you do to her?" I had to resist the urge to pull my gun but knew those two freaks in the back were keeping a close eye on both Ashley and me. I think part of the contract was bringing back the subject alive.

"We just planted her a little gift," he spoke innocently. "Oh, it's going to be one hell of a party when she returns home to her loving father." He laughed softly. "But before that, I thought I might bargain with the president for some donations. Believe it or not, it takes quite a lot of money to keep this church up and running."

"You'd wish."

He smiled nastily. "Oh, I almost forget to tell you we gave you the same gift."

I pressed my hand on my stomach. That thing… When I was unconscious…

"Oh, I do hope you appreciate our small but special contributions. Once the eggs hatch, you will become my puppets. You will…"

I grabbed Ashley's hand. "Long asleep, grandpa." I rushed towards the window on my left, dragging Ashley along. _Now_ there was someone around to see how cool it was.

"Stop them!"

"Cover your head!" I snapped as I jumped and crashed straight through the window, Ashley screaming as she followed my lead. We rolled over the ground and I found myself once again in the middle of the pouring rain. "You okay?"

"Alex, what're we gonna do?" Ashley begged as I helped her up.

"Don't worry, I'll figure something out," I reassured her. "But first we better get you out of here." We seemed to have landed in some outer storage room. I opened the door and we stepped outside. "Oh shit…"

The path leading around the churchyard was crowded with villagers.

"Hey, Ashley." I tossed her my cell. "Choose redial, call Hunnigan." At least I didn't have to call her.

"Okay," she muttered and pressed the keys.

I pulled out my shotgun. Hang on, had that cart been standing there before? I aimed and shot it. It caught flame and went rumbling down the slope, smashing down everyone in its path. "Yeah, baby!"

"Hello, is this Hunnigan?" Ashley asked behind me. "This is Ashley… Yes I'm fine. Uh…"

The few that had survived came rushing towards me and I shot them down. "Who of you is feeling lucky?" I shot one down. "Not you." Another one. "Not you." Another one, and kicked him down while he was on his knees. "And definitely not you."

"Well, she's a little busy right now," Ashley cried above the shooting.

"What's she say?" I asked her as I sent another one to meet his maker.

Ashley held out the phone. "She wants to talk to you."

I checked the churchyard. Got them all? I held out my hand and she placed the cell in my palm. "This is Grace."

"ALEX! Have you got any idea how long it's been since we had contact?" Hunnigan cried and I was forced to remove the cell from my ear a few inches. "I thought you were killed!"

"Hunnigan, relax," I said and reloaded my gun. "I'm alive, I found Ashley, just send over the damn chopper already."

"Alex," Hunnigan sighed, "you don't understand. You've been out for over twenty-four hours."

"Really?"

"Yes," she said and cleared her throat. "Alex. Authorities took you for dead."

I started trembling on the spot and tightened my hand around the cell. No freakin' way… "Hunnigan."

"You knew this operation had top priority. Ashley had to be retrieved as fast as possible." She almost sounded as if apologising.

"Hunnigan." My knuckles were going white now.

"We've sent Leon Kennedy after you."

* * *

**Queen Luana: **That's it for now. Now I have to think of a few more games to play with those darn kids. Ghiaaaah! Oh well. Tell me what you like and what could be improved.


	5. Chapter 5

**Queen Luana: **We continue. I will try to make up for my slip-up of making Alex look weak…

* * *

**Hold the fort**

"Are you mad?"

I punched a nearby villager in the face and while he was numbed blew his brains out. "I'm not mad. I'm fucking pissed off." Ashley shrieked when one of those strange alien like heads popped out from the decapitated body and started slashing at us. Another one of them. I blasted it down before it even got close and suppressed the thought that the same kind of thing was growing inside me.

After dragging Ashley through the tunnel we had resurfaced in the village centre where I was once again warmly welcomed. Warmly being the light of their cordial torches. I threw a grenade I had saved for just these kind of situations and as soon as the limbs were blown into various directions pulled Ashley along through the remaining scraps.

They had bear trapped the road next to the tower, which Hunnigan had pressed me once again to take. I sniped the man guarding the gate and we snuck past all the bear traps. "Come on, move it kid." I wanted to reach the extraction point where the chopper would meet us before Kennedy caught up with us.

Ashley squeaked as we stepped through the gate into the farm. "Isn't it a good thing that you can work together…"

"Hey, first of all, I can get you back myself," I said. "The extraction point is just outside that gate, I _think_ I can manage to go that far unless I run into the unfortunate occasion of, oh say, seizing to exist. Secondly," I reloaded as we were assaulted once again, "I hate Kennedy. No, actually I loathe him. You think the atmosphere is bad now? Wait till _he_ joins our little promenade. You think I'm treating these people badly?" Two of them groaned as they were blown into the air. "That I'm being tough and unfriendly? Believe me, I'm playing the polite touristcompared to the attitude I'll put up towards Kennedy."

I took the peace and quiet the last airborne corpse had left me to reload my shotgun. This was almost over. Once we were back home I'm sure we could find some doctor who could get these things out.

"You hate him that much?" Ashley asked. "Why?"

"It's a long story, kid," I sighed as we walked on, me leading the way.

"Summarize it. If I'm getting caught up in this vendetta of yours I have the right to know what it's about."

She gave me the look only the president's daughter could give me and I turned into the barn ill-humoured. "You remember the murders in the Arklay Mountains a couple of years back?"

She squinted then gave a nod. "Yeah, I think so. Right before Raccoon City was destroyed."

"Exactly," I said and climbed up the ladder. "A remote group of agents was sent to go and investigate a mansion located there which they destroyed due to it being a ground of illegal but most of all failed experiments." Another villager was standing ready with a pitchfork on the upper floor. I grabbed his shirt and threw him down where he landed unfortunately in an open bear trap. I helped her up. "Both Kennedy and I were placed into a team to go investigate the area afterwards. We sort of assumed it would be just some cleaning up."

I climbed through the open window and she followed me attentively listening to every word I said. "Two members of our squad were attacked by Cerberus, dogs infected by the Tyrant-Virus. We managed to rescue them but they died in the hospital afterwards." After we'd reached the ladder leading to the other gate and I had shot down the last person in the area I turned back to Ashley. "My future husband was one of them."

She gasped. "Oh, I'm… I'm sorry."

"Yeah, cheesy background, huh?" I smiled feebly. "Anywho…" I slid down the ladder. "I guess, together with my knowledge of my own capacities, that's why I don't want to group up with Leon Kennedy. He reminds me too much of it."

Ashley climbed down as well. "And because you blame him for not protecting him?"

I bit my lip. "You could say that." I tried to open the gate but it seemed to be barred from the other side. "Anyway, I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring it up again." I took the ladder and placed it against the metallic gate, motioning Ashley to wait while I went up first to check whether all was safe. I climbed up and threw one leg over the gate while I watched the area behind it.

I could see a bridge leading to a cabin behind which I saw what seemed to be a large wooden construction. The extraction point couldn't be much further. I whistled and Ashley climbed up as well.

Once we had both dropped down on the other side my cell rang again. "Yes?"

"Alex, I have some bad news…"

"Kennedy's caught my scent?"

"Hmm no," she said, "we lost contact with the chopper someone must've shot it down."

"Kennedy's chopper?" I tried hopefully.

"No, yours."

"Jolly."

"Don't worry. I'm sending another one over straight away. Just continue towards the extraction point."

I hung up and tucked the cell away again. "Bad news kid, the chopper was shot down but they're sending a new one straight away."

"Oh, okay," she said softly and we headed for the bridge. "But will you please stop calling me 'kid'? It's really belittling."

"It's not if you are one."

"What?"

I halted and put my hands on my hips. "How old are you?"

She gave me that proud look again. "Twenty."

My eyes widened. See, the reason why they give you files with information on the subject is to avoid awkward situations like _this_. "Oh. Well, let's go on, shall we."

"Alex! What's that look?"

"Nothing!" I said as we stepped onto the bridge.

"How old did you think I was?"

"Let's not go there, sweetie."

"Tell me how old!"

I sighed in annoyance. "If I tell you the truth and say fifteen, will you then shut up?"

"_Fifteen_?!" Of course she wouldn't.

I halted at the end of the bridge. Did my eye do catch the foreboding light of torches? Oh yes it didst. Waiting by the wooden construction were dozens of them. I turned around and oh yes, coming from behind the bridge were a whole bunch of them as well.

"Alex?" Ashley said and clasped my arm.

"Oh, do squeeze my arm a little harder, perhaps then they'll leave," I said, pulled myself free then took her arm and dragged her to the cabin. I kicked the door open, glanced inside to check for any possible danger then pulled Ashley in before closing the door again. The windows were boarded shut but I could just peek through. Ashley stayed close to me and watched as well how the villagers made their way for the house in their own entranced way.

Then I heard footsteps behind me, sturdy boots pacing down the wooden floor. A cold hand clasped my shoulder. "Hey…"

I clutched my aggressor's wrist and forced him onto the floor where I sat down on his back and pressed his arm into the wrong direction. Ashley screamed.

"Ouch! Relax, it's me!"

I would've recognised that man's backside everywhere. I puffed and released him. "I'd rather had it be one of them."

As I stood up, so did Leon Kennedy. "It's good to see you're both okay."

"Ashley, toss me that stick, will ya."

Ashley took the stick set against the wall and tossed it in my direction.

I caught it and used it to bar the door.

"Alex."

"Why are you here?" I asked him and crossed my arms.

"Come on, Alex," he said, "you knew that if you didn't keep contact with us you'd be accounted either dead or captured after twenty-four hours. They kept me close-by so I could take over once something happen…"

"Take over?" I snapped. "I've done all the work up till now, Ashley's here safe and sound and we're headed towards the extraction point. Don't you _dare_ telling me there was a need for someone to take over."

"Alex?" Not now Ashley.

"I can manage perfectly fine without you and I don't want you to interfere with anything I do. You stay away from me, I don't even want to look at you right now."

"Alex!"

"I warned you about this, Ashley, now let me…"

"_Alex_!"

I turned around and saw the light of the torches had gotten dangerously close. Shit. "Ashley, go hide upstairs!" I told her and drew my gun. When I stationed myself in front of one of the windows I heard Leon grabbing his as well.

"Just like old times, huh?"

"Not a word," I snarled and shot on of the villagers banging the wooden boards. "I don't want to hear you talk, I don't want to hear you breathe. You will appear non-existent until I've taken care of all of these."

"Alex, please…"

"Not a word!" A crash told me they had made their way through a window in the back. See, already he was drawing my attention away from doing my job. The job that had been assigned to me and no one but me. I made my way to the back and blasted them away with my shotgun before they even had a chance to crawl through.

Caught in a cabin with, Leon. Really, it seemed like a summary of all my nightmares. Every worst-case scenario crammed into one situation. But I fought them off. Hell, I wasn't going to lose to Leon. I heard him fire at the window on the other side. The cabin was filled with the sound of gunfire, people moaning and screaming and fists slapping the door and windows.

I took down another one of those alien-like creatures then leaned out of the window. At the far end of the wall I saw them raising a ladder and a window crashed into pieces upstairs. Ah, nuts. I bounced upstairs and hurried for the window that had been broken. An ugly rotten face came peeking through and swiftly I pushed the ladder away. There were screams and a lot of bodies falling to the ground and I smiled with glee. Bull's eye.

But my satisfaction was of short time when somebody grabbed me, this time not being Leon but one of them. They were climbing the stairs. Couldn't he fight them off for Christ's sake?

I threw my aggressor over my head and shot him with my handgun. Two more ladders had been raised giving access to the upper floor. Showtime.

Taking them down wasn't that much of a problem, but those alien-heads popping out every now and then were a real pain in the ass.

"Everything okay up there, Alex?" Leon called out just as that alien's tail gashed open my leg.

"Shit," I cursed then cried back, "everything under perfect control!" But why are you still breathing?

They drove me back against the wall but I still fought them off. After shooting down another alien face my Colt .45 ran out of bullets. Honestly, of all times, why now? Instead of reloading it, cause I really didn't have a second to spare, I just threw it against an approaching guy's head then reached for my shotgun.

With body parts flying all across the room I hadn't even noticed Leon coming up the stairs. "Alex."

I caught my handgun, which he had thrown me and reloaded it quickly.

"I thought you said you had everything under control!" he shouted above the gunfire while he settled himself against my back to fight off the people coming from the stairs.

"So I exaggerated a bit," I said, "what're you gonna do? Tell my mum?"

"You know," he said when one of the villagers fell down the stairs and took down three more with him. "It would be nice if you could just drop the attitude once in a while."

"And it would be really nice if you just _shut up_ once in a while!" I snapped back at him.

For what seemed to be hours the room was filled with bullets shooting in all directions. Leon and I stood firmly in the middle of the room; no one got even near us. The sooner this was over, the sooner I could kick Leon's ass for getting near _me_.

The echo of the last shot diminished and the final corpse decomposed on the filthy wooden floor. I checked the windows. "I got them all?"

Leon ran over to one of the windows and looked down. "They're leaving."

But my heart was not at ease. The room was too empty. "Ashley?" I cried.

There was a soft croak and the door of a nearby closet opened. "Are they gone?" Ashley's pale face asked.

I sighed in relief and lowered my gun at last.

"Yeah, they're gone," Leon answered behind my back and my face distorted to a deadly glare. "Don't worry, Ashley. We'll get you home safely." Only a split second later he was looking down the barrel of my handgun.

"No," I corrected him bitterly, "_I'll_ get her home safely. _You_ get out."

"Alex, take it easy and just be reasonable for a moment," he spoke softly. "Ashley's safety is our priority. We can settle whatever it is that's bothering you when we get back."

"You know bloody well what's bothering me!" I snapped, finger tightened around the trigger.

He looked slightly frightened. Surely he knew that it was dangerous to be standing there while I was armed. "Just let me go with you," he said with a soothing voice, "you don't need to talk to me or even look at me. I just want to make sure Ashley'll be okay."

"She will be," I hissed.

"Alex, can we please just go," Ashley begged. She'd stepped out of her closet and watched how the awkwardness had shaped into a bubble around Leon and me.

I glanced at her, then back at Leon. With a snort I lowered my gun. "Fine. We'll get going. But you-" I pointed an intimidating finger at him, "you follow _my_ lead. If I see you as much blink without my approval I will personally stomp you down a cliff, understood?"

He nodded in silence but disagreement lurked in his eyes. He knew I could. And more importantly that I would.

I turned towards the stairs. "Come on, Ashley, let's go." If he placed one foot in front of mine, I'd have my gun at the ready. I trotted down the stairs, Ashley following and checked the window whether everyone was gone or not. But indeed, there wasn't a soul in sight so we stepped outside.

"Oh well isn't this nice," I said when we stood in front of the large construction. I had been wondering what it was for some time now and now I saw that it were two gates. Two quite identical gates, a left one and a right one. "Okay, Ashley, which way."

"W-What?" she stuttered. "How should I know?"

"It doesn't really matter," I said, "as long as we get somewhere. If we find the trail leads us nowhere, we come back and take the other one. If we find that it leads towards the edge of a cliff-" I held up my finger as to draw Leon's attention who had stayed behind me like a good boy "- you better be somewhere else." I stepped forward and leaned on the lever that had been positioned between both gates. "Your pick, Ashley."

"Uhm.. Okay. Well, let's go left then."

"Fair enough," I said and pulled the lever to the left. There was some loud rumbling indicating the left gate had opened. I quickly ran back and peered inside, but no evil villagers came streaming out. "So far so good." I nodded inwards. "Let's go."

The path led us down to another wooden door. So far Leon was still quiet.

I opened the door and stepped into the muddy soil. Rain was still pouring down on the land and lightening lit the sky. "Okay you stay here, I'll go check the area. Wait for my sign, okay?"

I took a deep breath, readied my gun and stepped forward into the unknown.

"_John, I'll be okay."_

* * *

**Queen Luana:** That's it for now, rather short but well… Read and review my darlings. It's the Bella sisters up next.


	6. Chapter 6

**Queen Luana: **The whole John thing will become clear soon enough. No, it's not Ada's John. I forgot there already was a John in Resident Evil. Hey, it's a frequently used name, okay?

* * *

**The dynamic duo**

"_John! JOHN!"_

"_Alex, wait!"_

My kills, seven, Leon's kills, zero. I made my way through a number of bad-tempered people while Leon waited with Ashley all the way back. This was going swell. I'd never expected that being with Leon would be almost bearable. Okay, I felt like putting a gun to his head every three seconds, but other than that, I was doing my job and hell, I rocked at it.

I climbed up a ladder and shot the four remaining armed ones up there. Wish I had double guns like Lara Croft. Man, that would be sexy.

I don't need, Leon. I'll do just fine without him.

The noise of the last shot diminished and the air was overcome by silence. Except for the rain, things got quiet. Far too quiet. I looked down at the patch below where nothing remained but blood and mud. Something about it didn't feel right. It looked a bit like a trap…

"Alex?"

I ignored Ashley's call and slowly paced over to one of the ladders leading down. This place frightened me. Sure I could go back and take the other road, hoping it would be slightly better. Or I could decide _not_ to be inferior to Leon and just be the tough girl I was and jump down.

Still on my guard I slid down the ladder. When my feet sank into the mud I expected something to happen but nothing did. Cautiously I stepped forward. Though I could neither see nor hear them, I knew they were still around. I could feel them; I could _smell_ them. It was the stench of blood mixed with a hint I couldn't place at first. Could it be… motor oil?

The moment I reached the centre of the camp I was startled by a familiar, terrifying sound. A loud rattling emerged from beside me, as well as from above.

Ashley too gave a jump at the sound of the chainsaws starting up. "Alex?!"

"Ashley, stay close behind me," he murmured and together they followed the path I had taken earlier and climbed up the ladder leading onto the elevation. By now the loud noise of screams, gunfire and chainsaws had gotten louder and closer and both their hearts raced. I still had given Ashley no response. The wooden boards trembled when a woman ran towards them, carrying a torch and hatred in her eyes.

Ashley shrieked and Leon quickly pushed her aside. "Ashley…" he had barely raised his gun when a bullet pierced the woman's temple, her head exploded into sprays of blood and flesh and she fell down at Leon's feet. He lowered his head then looked down into the patch.

I scowled at him, mad for his attempt to interfere. For a moment I considered keeping my gun up and aiming another bullet at his forehead instead. At that sweet tempting spot between his eyes. Instead I lowered my gun and took satisfaction with that horrified look on his face. It must be some sight.

Those two bitches had come at me out of nowhere, swinging those chainsaws and head wrapped in bloody linen. Along with them, more of the villagers stormed at me and jumped down from the elevation. For a moment there I'd almost lost my cool. But that's the fun part of being me: I can lose my cool _coolly_.

So I slaughtered the lot of them, keeping cool. Standing in the exact same ground I took them all out, some had gotten so close that their blood had splattered onto me. It was dripping down my chin now and my clothes were heavily stained. It seemed that only my dreadlocks had survived the massacre.

I spat at the chainsaw wench rotting at me feet when Ashley hurried down one of the ladders. I leaned over and picked up the glistening key hanging from her neck. "Alex, are you okay?"

"Don't worry, it's not mine," I said and wiped off the blood on my face with the back of my hand, "the rain'll wash it off." I gave her a nod. "You all right?"

She nodded slightly. "I'm fine."

"I told you to wait there."

"Yes, but Leon…"

My eyes shot at him but he wasn't the slightest bit terrified by my glare. He only stared back at me sternly. I turned back to Ashley. "Well, important thing is you're safe. But next time, when I tell you to wait, you wait, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

I sniggered. She was all right. Just for being on my side rather than Leon's, I thought she was.

"You've changed, Alex." I knew he wouldn't shut up all the way through.

I turned on my heels and lead the way out of the camp, chin held high. "I've improved."

A grenade and a few shotgun shells took care of the villagers waiting for us at the gate leading out of this hellhole. "If we're lucky, this gate leads to a highway." I checked Ashley while I turned the key I had found in the gate's lock. "Fingers crossed, girl."

Yeah, there was no highroad behind the gate, I hadn't assumed so. But hey, being optimistic had never killed anyone. Though those villagers were a bit optimistic at times running at me without any weapons.

I held out my hands so the rain would wash off the blood. The gate had led us onto a bridge leading to, how do you know, yet another gate. But it was locked with a retinal scanner.

"Now what do we do?" Ashley sighed.

"We go that way," I said pointing to my right. "We'll have to look for another way around. This gate should lead us out of town, but as it's locked and too high to climb over…" I got up and stretched. "So if we walk round it, perhaps we'll run into a slightly smaller gate or one they have coincidentally left open."

"Or a bunch of angry people."

"I did not ask for your opinion, Kennedy," I snapped. "We go that way, and I'll kill everything that shows its ugly face. And I shall do this without being questioned by a git like you."

"Git, huh? Well that's a new one."

Walking round led us to a cable lift and we hopped on.

"Where does it go?" Ashley asked and gazed down over the railing.

"No idea," I said. The carts coming back were loaded with villagers. "Oh that's nice…" I took my handgun. Boom, headshot.

"Go, Alex," Ashley smiled.

"Ah, this reminds me of the good old days when I used to go and play _Time Crisis_ in the arcade on Fridays," I said as another villager fell from his cart. "Those were the days."

"Is that where you got your aiming from?"

I laughed loudly. "You crack me up Ashley. It is how I got the ambition though." We reached the other end of the cable-lift and stepped out. "Okay, interesting enough. Leon, you wait here and guard the carts."

"Alex, don't start this again. I told you we should stick together."

I sighed deeply and faced him. It must've been since that chainsaw event that I had looked at him. Once again his face was beaming with concern and cockiness. "Look, Leon, I'll be honest with you. I don't like you."

"I had a hunch."

"So it'll be best for both our safety, well, no, mostly yours actually… If we stay apart as frequently as possible. If we find a way out of the village, I'll be sure to let you know."

"You know I can't let you do that, Alex."

"Dear, Leon, this isn't about what you can't do," I hissed. "It's about what I can." I straightened up. "So wait here. We'll be right back." I took Ashley's elbow and pulled her along, around the corner and down the path. I was almost praying for dawn to break. I didn't like the dark. It really reduced my sight and that made me jumpy. When we reached another metal gate, Ashley finally spoke.

"Wouldn't it have been better if we'd brought Leon along?" she asked. "Who knows, you might need him."

"I don't." I smiled at her. "Don't worry, Ashley, you're in good hands. I'll take care of you. It's almost over. Once we're out of the village, it's only a matter of time before we're back in America. You'll see your father again. Else I don't get my money."

She smirked. "How much _do_ they pay you?"

I smirked back at her. "If I had it in hundred dollar bills I could swim in them." I pushed the gate open and in we stepped. Behind it was a large barn like building. "Looky here." Why had I somehow developed the habit to step from one creepy place into another? Well, as long as Leon wasn't here, I'd walk into hell itself. "I'm gonna go check it out," I said. "Stay covered until I get back, okay?"

"Hey Alex."

"Yeah."

"What's up between you and Leon?"

I looked at her and she bit her lip. "What do you mean?"

"You told me, I know," she continued. "But, it doesn't really look like you don't like him because you think you can do this yourself or because he reminds you of what happened back then. You… You really hate him."

"Ashley." I frowned and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go hide."

We waited for a moment, gazing into each other's eyes. That president's daughter look won't help you this time, sweetie.

She gave a nod and bounced off. I walked over and took my Colt in one hand while I opened the doors to the barn with the other. At least it was dry inside. I checked the room with the laser attached to my Colt but saw nothing out of the ordinary. I lowered my gun. "Well, that's a surprise." Only then I saw the shade moving in behind me. Ah fuck it…

I turned on the spot and could just dive away from an incoming monstrous hand reaching for my neck. Not again! My dive backwards morphed into a backflip and I landed back on my feet in the middle of the barn. Shit, that must've been so cool…

That tall looking neck clutching bastard had walked in without me noticing. How about Ashley? Couldn't she have given a yell or something? He grunted and closed the double door, then twisted the handles.

"Holy fuck…" I gasped. "Now, that is one neat trick." I grinned while sweat formed on my forehead. "I know a better one." I stomped over a nearby red barrel and it rolled over the floor. He looked at the barrel then at me and his eyes widened when he saw I had drawn my gun. The corner of my mouth curled upwards. "Burn, you fuck." I fired then readied to jump but the barrel already exploded and threw me into the air.

"Fuuuuuck!" I smacked onto the ground and almost twisted my wrist while doing so. "Ouch… Man… That's for trying to strangle me… twice…" I crawled back up and rubbed the dust from my pants. The explosion had set the entire barn on fire. I better found a way out.

Hang on. I don't like the look of that shadow.

Grunting and roaring, beard guy stepped out from the flames. His nails had stretched into bladelike claws and four bloody things that seemed to be related to the tentacle sprouted from his back. He jolted then his torso rose into the air, and a series of nasty looking vertebra like those of a snake twitched. He glared at me, ready to slice me open.

"I hate my job." One of the tentacles threw me into the air. I smacked against the ladder on the other side of the barn and fell down onto the ground. "Son of a…" I pulled myself up and climbed up the ladder with all the strength I could muster. "I will so enjoy pumping you full of lead." I stationed myself at the edge of the attic so I got a good overview. I took my shotgun. "And now die, you freak of nature…" I aimed it at his torso and fired four rounds, then reloaded and fired again. I hit him in the spine thingy and to my greatest surprise his legs came off. "Woohoo! All right, one more for Alex Grace."

Unfortunately, my joy would not last. Two of the tentacles now clasped around one of the wooden beams and lifted his body from the ground. "Now _that_ is sick," I said, looking at the legs that just kept on walking.

The heat was starting to grow on me. Sweat ran in places where I thought it never could and my mouth was dry. If I wasn't careful, one of my dreads could catch fire. "Die," I said through clenched teeth as I fired my shotgun, but he swung swiftly from one beam to another, "just die, you freak! Die, die, die, die, die!" Instead he swung at me and moments later I was thrown off the attic and rolled over the ground. My shotgun broke free from my hand and slid across the floor and stopped against the metal doors. "Well, Leon, you're getting competition…"

Two slimy tentacles wrapped themselves around my waist and in seconds I was pulled tightly against the reeking body of my little friend. His breath stank of death and fresh drops of blood dripped down on my face while I found myself being crushed.

I screamed. If I was gonna die now, the guy upstairs was in for some serious ass kicking!

But smiting Alex Grace was apparently not in his to do list for today. I heard a shot and the tentacles released me. While I plumped down to the ground I found I had once again two options, like you always have. Either Ashley had miraculously found a gun and learned to use it in a record time of five minutes; or somebody down here was gonna get his head blown off.

I raised my head and saw that Leon had stepped into the battle, gun raised and aiming it at the tentacle creature's dislegged torso. "Kennedy," I coughed, "what the _hell_ are you doing here?" This was my fight, my enemy; I had to get back at him for strangling me… twice. I crawled over to the door and picked up my gun. "Now, remember Alex, first freakshow, then Kennedy." I denied the urge to aim the barrel at Leon's head and instead raised it so it was aiming directly at the shiny backside of freakshow's skull. "Hey, ugly!"

He turned around after having lost his interest in Leon. With a roar he swung towards me and in his dive I pulled the trigger and hit him right in the chest. He was blown back and dropped to the ground, groaning and flapping his arms. Then he coughed up sprays of blood and fell silent.

Hell yeah.

"Alex, you okay."

"Shut up!" I barked. "I told you to stay with the carts!"

"You're not my superior, Alex," he said calmly. "Ashley came to me and told me you needed help."

There goes my respect, Ashley.

"We're in this together and we're getting out of this together. From now on, no matter what you say, I'm not leaving Ashley behind."

I glared at him but he counterglared. Stupid cocky attitude. My attention was drawn by a soft thud on the ground and I looked at freakshow's corpse. One of his eyes had popped out of its sockets onto the floor. "Ah, gross."

"No, wait," Leon said. "We can use it to open the gate. It had a retinal scanner remember?"

"Oh, no way in hell, I'm touching that," I said. "That thing is nasty and slimy."

"I'll make you a deal," he said with that boyish smirk of his, "if you take it, I'll shut up until we're out of the village."

I rolled my eyes. "I knew you would once use it to your advantage." I crouched and picked up the slimy glazed eyeball from the ground. "Thank God it's raining." I turned on the spot. "How did you get in here anyway?" The fire was still consuming the walls and roof and the metal door was still tightly shut and burning hot.

Leon pointed at a whole in the right wall that had apparently come down during the fight. I took a running jump and landed outside in the coolness of the pouring rain. Ashley came running. "Alex, Leon, are you okay?"

"Perfectly fine, Ashley," I said and attempted to shake off the slime the eyeball was covered in.

She pulled a disgusted face then turned to Leon. "How'd it go?"

"Oh, he won't be talking for a while," I said and put the eye in one of my pants' pockets. "Come on, girl, we're headed back for the gate. It's almost over now." She trotted along, and Leon was quiet. I was for once happy.

Back on the cable-lift Ashley pointed to the left. "Look! What's that?"

I turned and saw what seemed to be a series of packed together towers and buildings illuminated by several lights streaming through the windows. "It looks like a castle."

"You think that's where the gate leads to?"

"It could be. We might seek shelter there. We have to go on anyway, no point going back."

* * *

"Uh… Alex?"

We were standing in front of the gate. I had the eyeball clutched in my hand but only stared ahead dreamily. "Hush," I told Ashley, "I want to cherish the sweet sound of no one doubting my capacities." I inhaled deeply. "Okay then, guess we should keep going." I raised the eye in front of the retinal scanner. Unbelievable that such an old gate could be equipped with something so modern. These people really are freaks.

At the other side of the gate was another path leading up. At the top I saw the light of torches. Perfect.

"Leave it to moi," I said and stepped up. Only then I heard the sound of an engine starting and saw a van tilting over the top of the hill. I aimed but could not get a clear sight of the driver. Shit shit shit shit shit… A loud shot sounded right next to my ear and I screamed. "Ouch! Son of a…" I turned and saw Leon carrying a gun. A big gun. A freakin' rifle. The van swirled to the right and tilted over. It slid on for a few more meters then came to a halt. "What the hell is _that_?" I demanded pointing at the rifle in Leon's hands.

He lowered it. "A rifle." He led the way on and I followed him furiously.

"That's no rifle," I snapped, "that's a semi-automatic rifle. You know the power of that thing? No really, you have any idea! Division wouldn't even let me _look_ at a weapon like that! Why, really why, didn't you mention you had this on you before?"

"I didn't know it was _that_ important," he said referring to my clear overreaction.

"Anything else I should possibly know about?" I kept on preaching. "A TMP? A mine thrower? A freaking _rocket launcher_?!"

It had indeed been a castle we had seen in the distance and we had now reached the bridge leading towards it. We turned however by the shouting of the villagers. "Let's finish this inside," Leon suggested and we ran across.

"Ashley, get your ass on the other side of this goddamn bridge!" I snapped when I saw she was a few yards behind, clearly to stay out of my jets of curse words. There were two handles on both side of the bridge and both Leon and I took one.

"I could've used that gun, you know!" I said as we raised the bridge up.

"I thought you didn't want my help?"

"Oh, don't get so bloody smart with me. I could always use a gun like that. Why didn't they give me one of those?"

"Because intelligence is aware of your habit to throw guns when you run out of ammo."

"No kidding, I could kill three people by throwing that thing!"

With the bridge up we were finally separated from the village. "Come on, inside," I said grumpily. I get a Colt, he gets a rifle? Am I the only one who hates that guy?

* * *

**Queen Luana: **Yeah, it took long for me to finish this. But I've started school this week so I've had a lot of things on my mind. I'd love to say the next chapter will be up much quicker, but I can't make any promises.


	7. Chapter 7

**Queen Luana:** In this chapter, what happened years ago in the Arklay Mountains will finally be revealed. This is where the plot gets cheesy for a while. Those who don't like cheese, well, bear it for a chapter or two then it's back to good old sarcastic Alex.

* * *

**Agent Mailer**

"Are you going to keep complaining about a stupid gun for the rest of the trip?"

"The gun's not the issue here," I said. We had wandered into the castle and were now climbing a stairs leading up. "The gun's just the drop that spilled the bucket. The pebble that woke the dragon. The gun that drove Alex Grace to the verge of insanity." Ok villagers, this is not a good time to get in my way. But so far things were quiet. There was a shed here but no danger for the rest. Let's hope the upcoming door wouldn't lead to any.

Now, I don't ask for much. This castle didn't need to be flooded with relaxing aromatherapy bathtubs, merry go rounds and little fairy tale creatures. If there had been just a friendly face around the corner happy to provide us with some food and a place to spend the night, I would've been _very_ thankful. Hell, if this place had been deserted and had a spike pit I could push Leon into, I would've been a believer.

But what do I get? Freaks in cloaks.

We sneaked along the walls to avoid being seen and up the stairs. "Okay you wait here," I told Ashley and readied my gun. "I'll check this place out and shoot every moving thing I see. So, I suggest you stay here as well, Leon." I slid around the corner of the stairs and checked the area. No of those freaky monks rushing towards me or anything. No. Instead I heard a shout coming from above. "Matar los!"

Ah, screw you… I saw something by and flamy soaring through the air and ducked away back behind the stairs. I kept rumbling down the steps until Leon grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back to my feet. That was inhumanly uncool.

"Let go," I snapped and pulled free from his hand. "Catapults. I hadn't seen that one coming. Two of them, at the least." I smiled almost sadistically at Leon. "Well, since division has entrusted you with a rifle I suggest you go in there and be a hero."

"Alex…"

"Then give it to me."

He hesitated, the gun resting in both his hands.

I rolled my eyes. "I won't throw it."

He smiled feebly and handed me the gun. I loaded it then pressed my back against the wall. I am the Angel of Death… I inhaled then turned around the corner, eye levelled with the scope. I saw the first catapult, the man handling it and igniting another shot. Like hell you will. Headshot, you fuck. I pulled the trigger and for a split second saw the blood gushing out of his forehead, then he fell onto the ground. I jumped back into the safety of the wall.

"One down," I said and thrust the gun back into Leon's hands. "I can't get a clear shot of the other guy. There's a tunnel on the other side. I suggest we run for it. Wait for my signal."

"Alex, no, let me come with you," Ashley pleaded.

"I have to check whether I can make it that far," I told her. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." I breathed in deeply. "Never linger." I jumped into the clear and ran, ignoring the shouting of another catapult handler. I just ran, eyes ever focused on the tunnel. I heard the catapult swinging, the projectile going into the air. I leapt into the shadow of the tunnel and saw the rock hitting the ground yards away. I put my fingers to my mouth and whistled. "Make a run for it Ashley! Go!"

Leon nudged her. "Just follow me!"

Together they ran into the open towards me, Leon leading the way. I heard the catapult swing again. "Shit!" They'd loaded it even before they'd spotted them running. "Ashley!"

Leon managed to jump forward and land at my feet, but Ashley was thrown forwards and fell flat on the ground, screaming and covering her head in her hands.

"Ashley! Get up!" I snapped but either she did not hear me or was too stunned to move. I saw the castle walls being illuminated. "Shit, shit, shit!" I bit my lip then ran into the open. She was still far away, but I had no choice. She wouldn't move. I ran, my lungs begged for air.

"_John! JOHN!"_

_I pushed the leaves away. My heart thumped loudly; I gasped for air._

_Please don't, please please, don't…_

I crouched beside her and pulled her elbow but she would not move. "Get up! We have to move!"

But she didn't budge. I heard the swinging of the catapult.

"ASHLEY!" I slapped her across her face. She shrieked and placed a hand on her reddening cheek. Her eyes widened and stared at me in pure shock. "Get up and run!" I snapped.

She staggered to her feet and I pulled her along back towards the tunnel. We reached it just before the last projectile hit the ground. I supported on my knees and waved a finger at her. "Don't you _ever_ do that to me again."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. She seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Hey no need to turn on the waterworks, just don't do it again." I lead the way up the stairs. I halted at the end of the stairs. There was a soft monotone murmuring close by. Those freaks? Right after there was another explosion. "It's not over…"

Ashley whimpered. I took my pocketknife and flicked it open. I carefully held it out and checked the reflection. "I see another catapult. Different from the last one. Still two more to go." I tucked the knife away again. "There's a shed all the way to the right, over the bridge. It should be a safe hide-out. Perhaps I can snipe the other catapult from there."

"I'll wait here with Ashley."

"No, we all go," I said.

"Why?"

"Cause I don't trust you," I said simply put.

"Why not?" he asked impatiently.

I brought my face only an inch away from his then whispered: "Because I want to put a bullet through your head, before you put one through hers."

He frowned.

"There's something inside her, Leon. Something bad." I clenched my teeth. "I know your style." I pulled my eyes away from him. "We run on my sign. Follow me." I stepped into sight for a moment wait for the catapult to swing, then stepped back again. Once I heard the explosion I took my gun. "NOW!" I ran out, to the right, across the bridge, hearing another two pair of feet following behind. There was some shouting and the catapult was loaded again. But we had already reached the little shed.

I checked inside, saw no one, and motioned Ashley to hurry. She skipped inside and so did Leon, then I went in as well before I was hit. Once inside I saw two of the monks had stepped into sight and I raised my handgun. Dance, motherfucker, dance. I shot them until they fell down. They were tougher than the villagers. "There. We should be safe here for now.

"We can't stay here forever," Leon said.

"Stop talking to me, right now," I said and leaned against the wall. "I'm thinking. There was a big gate to the left but I don't think we'll be getting through so easily. It looked rather shut."

"I think I saw something…"

"I told you to stop talking," I barked.

"You are not in control of this mission."

"Then I'll put myself in control!" I said and reached for my gun.

"Stop it! STOP IT!" Ashley shrieked and pressed her hands against her ears. "I am fed up with you two!" She looked at me. "This isn't about pride or painful memories anymore, Alex. You _hate_ him! This is plain _hostility_!"

I turned round and pressed my hands on the wooden table. What do you know, Ashley?

"I'm not stupid, all right?" she went on. "I know you're hiding something from me. I want to know what _really_ happened between you two."

Leon frowned and looked at me. "How much have you told her?"

I whimpered softly and tried my very best to suppress the tears. Don't cry, Alex, don't you fucking cry.

"Ashley?"

"She told me about the incident in the Arklay Mountains. How her fiancée was killed."

"Then how come…"

"I didn't tell her the truth," I said. My voice was shaky and feeble. "I told her they died in the hospital."

Leon sighed. "If you wanted to get her involved in this, you could've at least told her the truth."

A sob escaped my mouth. "I couldn't even tell myself the truth."

"Alex…" Ashley spoke softly when she realised I was crying. The last person she had expected to cry…

I raised my head and wiped away the tears. Then finally I would tell the whole story I had kept locked away for so long. In a situation like this. "John didn't die at a hospital."

_Something nudged my foot and I opened my eyes wearily. John smiled at me, short hair ruffled and wrapped in his uniform. He looked so darn sexy. Especially when he smiled so arrogantly. I smiled feebly and looked outside the chopper. Trees were passing by beneath us and in the distance I saw the mountains rising up into the late night sky._

_I had been so excited when this had been assigned to me. Sure, John had made his input as well, but they'd put me on the team. Finally, I could do something. I was twenty now, since two weeks ago and I was ready. I'd been ready for so long._

"_Okay, lads, strap yourselves in we're landing."_

_John turned his eyes away from me to the other two in the chopper. An Ohio intern called Lanley Cage, twenty-three years old but a rookie. And Leon Scott Kennedy, a tough looking twenty-one year old. With John being twenty-seven himself I was the youngest of the squad._

_My knees trembled when the chopper descended and finally landed on a clear patch between the trees. We jumped out one by one._

"_Okay, guys, check your equipment."_

_The two others immediately did what John had told them. I however looked around. I could hardly see a few yards ahead. The trees were close together and darkness consumed the rest of the forest._

"_Grace."_

_I blinked and saw John had stepped right in front of me. "Your gun." He took mine out of his holster, checked the ammo then handed it back to me._

_I took it with a blush. "Sorry, John."_

_He cleared his throat._

_I smiled. "Sir."_

_He gave a satisfied nod then turned towards the other two who were sniggering. "Move out everyone. This may be a low profile mission, but stay on your guard. Grace, you stay with me." I pouted and followed John while the Leon and Lanley headed into a different direction._

_We sneaked along the trees in silence, until I saw the flashlights of the other two disappear out of sight. "So," I said with a smile, "is this your idea of an erotic fantasy?" I moved up closely to him and let my hand slip between his legs._

"_Alex," he mumbled and pulled my hand away. "Stay focussed. You're coming along with me because you're a newbie."_

_I flashed the flashlight in his face and he covered his eyes painfully. "Don't call me a newbie," I said, "my aiming is better than yours. Sir."_

_He pushed the flashlight away. "For a person who hasn't got a penis, you're pretty cocky."_

"_Oh sure, let's play the gender card on me again."_

_He shook his head with a smile. "Come on, private."_

"_No, really, I was hoping we could at least have a quickie against a tree…"_

* * *

"_Ah, that's how I like my corpses," I said when John had crouched and inspected a body with his flashlight. "Rotten and covered in maggots."_

_John got back up. "Well, nothing to see here. So far everything we found was dead. I'm ending this mission."_ _He pressed his mike. "This is lieutenant Mailer, everyone back to the chopper. This mission's over."_

_I heard two 'copy that's coming from my earpiece. I pouted at John. "No quickie?"_

_He took the ring dangling from a silver chain around my neck between his fingers. "Soon." _

_I smiled dreamily and saw how the small white diamond sparkled._

_We walked back in silence. I couldn't wait until we were back at our apartment. Back in our bed. I knew he was thinking the same. His eyes told me. Too often had they already wandered off from my face. Oh yes, I hadn't put on these shorts unintentionally. I was freezing my ass off, but his yearning looks were worth it. _

_Back at the chopper, we found Leon chatting with the pilot. "Anything to report?"_

"_Nothing," he said and shrugged. "Few dead things, but other than that."_

"_I guess when they blew up the mansion, they destroyed everything in it as well," I said. "What's taking Lanley so long? Surely he isn't living up to his incompetent name…"_

"_Lanley, what's your status and position?" John asked the mike._

_I stretched. God, if we had to wait any longer I might not even have the energy for hot kinky sex. Now that would be tragic._

"_Come in, Lanley," John repeated and now both Leon and I checked our earpieces for any reaction._

_John sighed._

"_Maybe some problem with the connection," I tried._

"_I'll go have a look," John said, "he went off that way, right?"_

"_I'll come with you," I said but he shook his head._

"_No, you stay here with Leon," he said and checked his gun. "Leon, watch out for her, will you."_

"_No problem," he said._

"_Alex, stay close to him, all right?" John pressed me._

_I smiled. "John, I'll be fine."_

_Leon nodded and John took off into the trees. "You two stay with the chopper."_

_I sighed and leaned against the metal casing. "Next time I want a daytime mission."_

_We listened to the sounds of the night. Wind blowing and owls making their owl noises. "Say, you and John…"_

"_Yeah, yeah, we're in a long-term relationship," I said and waved my hand. "We're not the subtle types."_

"_How long?"_

"_Well, we've known each other for about four years," I said. "And have been dating for over three years. And well," I smiled proudly, "now we're engaged."_

"_Congratulations," Leon smiled. "And when-"_

_He was cut off by a gunshot. Crows flew into the air in fright and Leon and I jumped too. Silence fell again._

"_False alarm?" he asked._

_Then there was a distant barking. It grew louder. There were more shots, then screams._

_My heart skipped a beat. John._

_I ran off into the trees. "John!" I pushed the leaves aside, almost tripped several times but kept running. The barking grew so close, more shots were fired and there was screaming and moaning and painful cries. Don't, oh please God, don't… "JOHN!" I cried. I was getting closer now. I heard the breaking of twigs and rustling of leaves behind me and knew Leon followed close behind._

"_Alex, wait!"_

_Then I stopped. There they were._

_There were three of them, two live ones, one dead, lying several feet away. Cage's dead body was resting against a tree. There was so much blood I couldn't even tell what was clothing, and what had been human flesh just minutes ago. But that's not what had drawn my attention; that was just a vague perception from the corner of my eye. The real horror was lying only a few feet away from me on the ground, still twitching, still alive._

"_John…" Those two beasts were still having a way with him. One was ripping of flesh from his leg; the other one was chewing on what seemed to be something that had been in his stomach. They looked like dogs, Dobermans, and maybe they had once been. John's hands were shaking next to his face, eyes gazing up into the sky. A single drop of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth as the two dogs tore of his flesh bit by bit._

_Tears welled up in my eyes as I stood there rooted to the floor. I felt like vomiting but nothing would come up. I shook over my entire body, my gun rested pointlessly in my holster. _

_From the corner of my eye and through the blur of my tears I saw Leon. He too gasped when he saw John and Lanley. But unlike me, he almost immediately grabbed his gun and shot one of the dogs. It stumbled backwards but the other one roared angrily. Leon fired again and kept firing until the two of them were lying dead on the ground._

_I had been oblivious to all of this. I just stood there and cried, gazing at John. He was still _alive_…"John," I whimpered._

_He shook and his eyes wandered over to me. His mouth formed my name and I cried even harder. My hand reached out for him. I wanted to touch his face, his everything. I had had so many chances to touch it. So many the past few hours. I just wanted to caress his cheek._

_But his eyes dwelled on to Leon. He spoke his name hoarsely._

_Leon swallowed and nodded. John looked at me again. His eyes so lovingly. John… JOHN! I turned to Leon in pure fright. "NO!"_

_He fired two bullets into John's forehead who stopped breathing in an instant. His head dropped down and his eyes stared blankly into my face. As if I wasn't there. It was the most horrible look his eyes had ever shown._

_I screamed and rushed towards Leon. I clenched my hands into fists and hit him anywhere I could. But sadness drew out all my strength. He spoke to me, but all I could hear were my own sobs as he clutched my wrists and pulled them away. Through my sobs I heard more barking and Leon started to drag me back into the trees while I kicked and screamed and cried John's name. I even fainted in the end, because the next thing I knew the chopper was going into the air, leaving the forest and John behind._

_No matter how hard I cried and struggled to get free from Leon's grip, it went all the way back to the base._

Ashley had grown paler while I had been talking. She shivered, her hands pressed against her lips and her eyes staring at me in utter disbelieve. "That's how it really went," I finished talking. The tears had rolled down my cheeks and they were now covered in streaks of dirt. "That's how I lost John."

Ashley looked at Leon. "Did you really…?"

"I had no choice."

"Yes, you did!" I barked at him fire shooting through my entire body. "You made a choice when you chose to shoot John in front of my eyes without a moment of hesitation!"

"If I hadn't the T-virus infected into his body by those things would've turned him into one of them," Leon raised his voice above mine.

"_I couldn't even say goodbye_!" I screamed at him. After this final retort we both grew silent. I wiped away the tears. "I think at this point we've both proven that staying together is a danger to ourselves and to the mission." I straightened myself. "Either you leave, or I leave, Leon."

* * *

**Queen Luana:** Cheesiness, I warned you. And hey, look at how quickly I uploaded the next chapter. Who's tha man… uh… girl… Anyway, review everyone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Queen Luana:** I'm glad to see that you didn't think the last chapter was _too_ cheesy as you just kept on reading and even gave positive reviews. Nice. Let's see what happened next. I'm not too fond of cliffhangers myself so I tried to minimize the last one. Here we go, another chapter up.

* * *

**Here we are, stranger**

Outside the shed, the explosions rumbled on, illuminating the tiny room every few seconds. Leon tried to read my eyes but my look was cold and careless. The tears were nowhere to be found. It was over. This would end now.

"Alex, we've talked about this before. We're not going to split up. It's not safe."

"I beg to differ," I said sharply and placed my hands on my hips. If I had to look at his face for another minute I would burst.

But he stood his ground firmly. "I'm not leaving Ashley behind."

I nodded. "That's settled then. Take care of yourself, Ashley." I headed straight for the door. Ashley didn't even attempt to stop me. Even she knew I wouldn't change my mind. She understood.

Leon however did not. He blocked my path and stepped into the doorway. "I can't let you leave, Alex."

I squinted. My fists clenched. "Then this will be the last time you stand in my way, Leon." For the second time that day he found the barrel of my gun inches away from his face.

"It's becoming a nasty habit, Alex," he said, "that's the second time you've aimed a gun at me."

"Third," I corrected him. "I was carrying a gun at the funeral."

He closed his eyes, almost ashamed. "Of course you were."

"I don't want to make this messy, Leon," I said. "This might not be a rifle, but once I pull the trigger I think it'll matter little. Don't even try to disarm me; you've seen my reflexes at gun practice back at the academy. You know how fuckin' fast I am. So just step aside."

"No," he said confidently, "you can't leave."

The finger tightened around the trigger shivered and the nails of my free hand were pushed deeply into my skin until blood almost ran from it. "Don't think I don't have the guts, Leon," I hissed. "I can shoot you. I have _dreamt_ about shooting you." I glanced at Ashley to answer his doubtful looks. "But I'd rather not do it in front of her."

He gazed deep into my eyes, wondering whether he would call my bluff. My eyes were bloodthirsty. I was almost hoping he wouldn't, forcing me to hit him between the eyes. I saw one drop of sweat glistening on the perfect spot. I aimed at that single drop.

He stepped aside.

My gun remained aimed at the distance for a few more seconds, trembling. I was almost angry that he had moved out of the way. I bit my lips together and lowered my gun then tucked it away. Without wasting another word I stepped out after the next explosion, took a shot over my shoulder and heard to my amazement that I had actually hit the fuel tank and our aggressor was thrown into the air with a scream.

"Alex, be careful!" Ashley cried but I didn't answer anymore. I was free. Now all I had to do was find a way out. And shit. Why oh why do you always realize the important stuff, five minutes after you left the group? Like, that you just raised up the castle's only known exit? I leaned against a wall and sank down on the ground. I pressed my hand against my forehead. So, if I went back I faced a dead end, if I went on I'd run into Mr. Cockster and Ashley again. Why grim fate, must you hate me so?

The silence was broken by an explosion and I jumped to my feet. The hell? For a moment I considered running back to check on Ashley. Then I realised checking on Ashley meant checking on Leon, and that was one feeble act I wished to avoid. So instead I turned on my heels and marched the other way the other way.

I heard the same droning muttering getting closer and steadied my pace. Yeah, I could handle them but if I ran out of ammo, for the first time in seven months, I'd be screwed.

I trotted down the stairs, reloading my handgun.

"_Ho_!"

Somebody ran straight into me, thumping a fist into my stomach. I coughed, lost my balance and together we stumbled down steps, rolling over each other and grunting and bruising. We came to a halt at the bottom of the steps, my limbs sprawled over his entire body, face pressed into a musky smelling shirt.

"Alex… Fancy seeing you here."

"Hey Luis. Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

"Surprisingly enough, it's a gun." I got to my feet and helped him back up. "I was just looking for you," he said then turned around. A group of about ten hooded monks came sauntering in our direction. "Ugh, them again."

"Friends of yours?" I asked.

"Nah," he smiled, "they never stay out of my fridge."

He too pulled a gun from the back of his pants. Hang on, the _back_?

Bullets shot in all directions. Knees were impaled and heads shattered to pieces. Within seconds, the lot of them were rotting away on the ground. Luis stroke a lock of black wavy hair behind his ear. "Not the most hospitable types, I'll say." He gave me a nod. "Hey, you okay?"

"What?"

"You don't look too good."

Why were my shoelaces suddenly so interesting?

"Alex."

"It's a long story," I said softly. He looked over his shoulder.

"Not here. More are coming." He took my arm and pulled me back to the first room we had entered on our arrival at the castle. In the distance I heard people shouting and casting a glance over my shoulder, saw torches being lit. Those sweet horror clichés this place as well was flooding with. Our run for safety seemed to have turned out quite unpleasantly.

"So, here I am, drinking cheap brandy," I finished and took another slug of his flask.

"So there is more to you than meets the eye."

"I guess there is." I pressed the flask into his hand. "I'm more than just a bad mouth."

"I was starting to worry," he smiled. He patted my shoulder and got up from the steps we were sitting on. "What is it you intend on doing next?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I hadn't really thought it through. I just had to get away from him." I looked down at the gun in my hands. "If I'd had stayed with him for another minute… I'm sure I would've shot him."

"Revenge doesn't solve anything."

"But it makes you feel better," I countered. "Having Leon dead were the sweetest dreams I ever had. The ones you wake up from wishing so badly that they'd been real. So badly, it almost makes you cry."

Luis put his hands on his hips. "You know, there is a tribe in Africa that has a peculiar ritual. When a criminal is caught, he is thrown into a river, legs attached to a rock. The one he has done harm to, is given a knife and a choice. He can let this criminal drown, and have his revenge, or he can dive into the river, cut the rope, and save him."

"Why would they do that?"

"Because they know revenge doesn't lead to healing," he said, "acceptance does."

I frowned. Why did his words sound so bloody right? "Never expected you to give me the melodramatic lecture." I shook my head with a grin. "My parents, my officers, my priest, yeah. I thought you were nothing but a ladies man."

He scratched his ear. "I guess there's a little more to me too."

I tucked the gun away. "I need a cigarette so badly right now." I got up with a chuckle. "Maybe that's why I've been so moody all day. I haven't had my fair share of nicotine." I looked up the stairs leading back into the castle. "I should go back."

Luis smiled. "You should."

"One last thing," I said. "That tribe. How often are crazy enough to jump after these criminals, and risk their lives for a person who ruined theirs?"

He looked at me, very seriously. "Always."

The castle appeared to be abandoned and the mindless humming had seized. "I don't expect them to be too far ahead. Leon moves slowly; he's not as reckless as I am." We climbed the stairs always on our guard. Luis walked close to me, gun in one hand. At times, I felt his breath in my neck. "They seem to have left," I said as we walked across the open patch where less then two hours ago I had saved Ashley from being burnt to a crisp. "Where the hell did they…"

Luis' right hand clasped my shoulder and turned me sideways. His gun dropped to the ground and his other hand pressed against my other shoulder. In seconds I was forced against the wall and without any further words, I was kissed. It was a rough messy kiss and his stubbles scoured my face. Nevertheless, it was wild. A hand tore the ribbon that held my dreadlocks together, another messed with my belt.

This was fucked up. We were standing on unknown ground with enemies roaming everywhere. Ashley and Leon could be in danger, no, they probably were in danger. Bloody, axe throwing danger. And somehow, at that point, I couldn't care less. It had been seven freakin' months, since that pathetic toddler I'd met in a bar. I needed this.

Hell, I _earned_ this.

I scooped the ribbon from the ground and tied my dreads back together. Luis leaned against the wall and looked me up and down while I checked whether every piece of fabric was in the right position. I rolled my eyes when I saw his look. "Don't look so smug," I told him and walked up the stairs. "Let's go."

At the end of the stairs I felt one hand one my thigh and I quickly slapped away his arm. "Okay, clarification," I told him. "I like you. I fucked you. But we're _not_ getting all smoochy now." I took a few steps then stopped and turned to him again. "Know what? I take it back. You really are nothing but a ladies man."

He only chuckled as a response. "Wait, Alex, I almost forgot."

I raised an eyebrow as he searched his pockets then cursed. "Shit! I must've dropped it… somewhere…" He looked at me. "I'll be right back."

"I can't wait for you."

"I know. I'll catch up." He turned but I stopped him.

"Luis. What exactly did you lose?"

"A medicine that will stop the parasite from growing. Or well, it will at least slow down the process."

"Parasite?"

"You've been coughing up blood right?" He nodded when my expression gave it away. I still had that taste in my mouth. "I'll be right back."

I trotted down the stairs and I turned around. I didn't allow myself to tell him to be careful. Get a grip, Alex. You're still an emotional wreck. I reached a door and just as I was about to open it, I heard a rough low voice behind me. I pulled my gun and aimed it at a hooded masked figure.

"Hello, stranger," he greeted me. "Got something that might interest yah."

I lowered my gun. "How would you know what interests me?"

He chuckled and opened his cloak. In there fit enough weaponry for a small army. "Interested?" I smiled broadly.

Fact. On the inside, castles were even creepier. After walking through several rooms I found myself standing in a large hall passing yet another Saddler portrait. If I had a marker, I'd give him a Hitler moustache. Instead I took pleasure in shooting practice bullets through his forehead. Leon appeared to have gotten pretty far. I still hadn't run into anyone. Except for the rotting corpse in a creepy looking dungeon. Our castle comes with a fully equipped dungeon and flame spitting statues. Hurrah. Really, who would want to live in a place like this?

I rummaged through my backpack looking for a lost cracker or something. I was starving. Instead I found the light. "Cigarettes," I told myself as I looked at the red package. I peeked inside and found two of them. Two. I looked upwards. "It was about time, big guy." My hands had started shaking and that makes it reaally difficult to aim properly. One Saddler-headshot had already ended up being an earshot. I pulled out one cigarette and tucked the other one away. I pushed open another door with my elbow and searched for my Zippo inside my pants pocket. I found it with glee as I walked into the next giant hall and put the cigarette end between my lips.

I had only just raised the lighter when I heard a shout. Two nearby doors busted open and a group of cloaked men ran inside. I looked at them as they approached cautiously, swinging their morning stars. I smiled and took my time to light my cigarette. I inhaled and felt the warmth run into my throat and the nicotine quickly flowing through my veins and put me at ease. I closed my eyes in ecstasy and a sweet smile spread for ear to ear. The humming grew closer and I heard the clattering of the morning stars. I pressed the cigarette between my lips again then extended a hand for my belt.

Eat TMP ammo, bitches.

The soft humming was drowned out by the firing of the TMP. It was an endless chorus of bullets dropping to the ground, chests being impaled, people screaming and corpses thudding on the carpet. When the last hooded freak had fallen I inhaled once more. "Better than sex."

Life seemed to be beautiful again. I had reset my 'last time since I got laid' counter and I had found myself a smoke. This place didn't seem half that bad now.

"This is definitely one of the weirdest places I've ever seen," I said aloud when I walked on. There were levers everywhere, platforms in the water you could only reach by taking a running jump. Seriously, these people were setting a poor image of west-Europeans. When I had made it across the platforms, my cigarette had come to its end. "Farewell luv," I told the but. "We had some great times together." Then I trotted up the stairs, waited in front of the door to see whether Luis was anywhere in sight and then pushed it open.

God, I was hoping I wouldn't gain on them that fast. I had just stepped inside when Leon dropped from a higher ledge, wet from the waist down and smelling weird. There was a strange expression on his face when he saw me. "Alex?"

"I know you must be experiencing mixed feelings right now," I told him. "You're happy because I'm back but you're scared that I am for the wrong reasons. So hereby, don't worry, I won't blow your brains out." I smiled sweetly. "Not yet."

"What happened to you?" he asked me.

"Got laid."

"…oh." He frowned. I stretched and looked around.

"So, where's Ashley?"

"That's the problem, she was taken…"

"No. Stop. Right there. Not a word." I pressed my eyelids closed. "I have just crossed the thin line between homicidal and non-homicidal. Don't make me fall back, Leon. Just tell me she's gone on ahead."

"Uh, she's gone on ahead?"

"Good," I smiled cheerfully. "Let's catch up with her then."

I walked up the stairs and Leon followed. There was actual silence between us for the next few minutes. No cursing, no him annoying me. It all passed by peacefully and quietly. We shot ourselves some bad guys, solved some weird puzzles (really, who'd wanna live in a place like this?), generally, we kicked ass at doing our jobs.

Until we ran into a dwarf. Leon knew him, apparently, I had no freakin' idea who he was. When we stepped into a room, there he suddenly was. All dressed up nicely and watching us between two bodyguards standing up there on a balcony.

"Mister Kennedy! What a pleasant surprise!" he said with a grin on his deformed old face. "And Alex Grace too, I see. Unfortunately it's Ashley we need… not you."

"And who the hell are you?" I snapped.

"Salazar," Leon told me. "He owns the place."

"Yeah, well I am already well known with these people's hospitality." I sighed. "Well, one freakshow more or less, doesn't make that much of a difference."

"I refuse to be compared to those ignorant los Ganados," Salazar spoke sharply and leaned over. "The parasites, Las Plagas, are slaves to my will. I have complete control over them."

"Well I really don't give a damn," Leon said. "Rain or shine, you're going down."

I rolled my eyes. "Please Leon, leave the catch phrases up to me. You're doing a pretty poor job at it." There was the sliding of doors and soon the room was filled with the familiar droning of those cults. "Perfect. Another ambush." I took my shotgun. "I bet you I can shoot more of them than you can."

"This isn't a time to play games, Alex," he mumbled as a pack of cults carrying scythes drew closer.

"What? Scared you'll lose?" I smiled smugly and dived into the action shooting down two with one shot. "That's two!"

Within seconds we were running across the room and up the stairs shooting down everything that moved and shouting numbers at each other. "Get back here, cowards!" Who knew those things actually knew fear? In the end I actually had to chase them around since they were freakidy scared of me. I had just chased them down for an entire tour when I heard another things slide open. I looked to my left and saw that a wall had disappeared and was now showing me two guys wearing rocket launchers…

"Rocket!" I cried and quickly dived down. Instead of hitting me those dimwitted freaks hit the ones I'd been chasing around. "That's lucky." I got up from my feet and wiped the dust off my pants. This place really needed to be cleaned. Then again, what idiot would want to clean this place? I saw Leon standing on the other side. "Now what?" I asked him.

"I'm on it."

With I sigh I sat down on the ground and closed my eyes for a while. Just a little while… just… snooze a bit…

"Alex."

I opened one eye. "Wha-?"

"You dozed off," Leon told me and handed me something that looked like a stone goat. "The hell?"

"I'll explain later," he said, "can you hang on to that for me?"

I sighed. "Sure, why not." I put it in my backpack. "I hope you really need it cause this thing is heavy." I swung the backpack over my shoulder. "Okay, let's go we got ourselves a girl to save."

"Nine."

"Say what?"

"I got nine of them," he told me.

I sniggered. "Fifteen, smarty pants. And I'm not even including those who got blast into pieces by those rocket launchers."

"If I didn't know better I'd think you've stopped hating me."

"But luckily you do huh," I said. "Someday I'll rip your head off."

* * *

**Queen Luana:** I know it took ages for me to upload. And if you didn't like the Luis part, so be it. I flipped a coin on whether they'd fuck or not (watch how I'm not using the term 'get together'). If it'd been tails it would've gone something like this.

"You've been coughing up blood right?" He nodded when my expression gave it away. I still had that taste in my mouth. "I'll be right back."

"Take care of yourself, Luis," I told him.

"You too," he said. "This isn't exactly the appropriate time for sexual attraction. But maybe, if we both get out of here, I'll buy you lunch."

I sniggered. "Maybe you will."

**Queen Luana:** So decide for yourself whether I did the right thing.


	9. Chapter 9

**Queen Luana:** Okay, I'll try to update faster. Last one took me about sixty days to get it up so, here I go. I just finished the game once more, if I fail to recall any scenes I'll just have to put my faith in youtube. My brother's being a pain in the ass so if I'm putting in even more cursing than usual, well, there's your reason.

* * *

**The sample**

"So hungry…" Dreamingly I gazed at the painting of the fully decorated table with chicken, fruit, bread and wine. I pressed a hand on my rumbling belly and moaned. I hadn't eaten since that disgusting plane meal. "Why does this castle torture me so much?"

Leon came sauntering back into the room. "That way leads outside again, no point going back."

"Dead end?"

"It seems so."

I sighed deeply and leaned against the counter. "You don't happen to have any crackers on you?"

"I think I've got chewing gum."

"No, you idiot," I said and turned away from the painting. "That only makes it worse! Son of a…" I shot the painting in frustration and hit the bottle of wine. To my surprise it burst open and either wine or blood oozed down. "Ok, I lost my appetite."

"Alex, look here." A previously locked door had opened and shown us another room. In the middle stood a mounted chest. "It seems an awful lot like a trap."

I peeked inside and carefully placed one foot on the carpet.

"Alex," Leon hissed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know it's a trap," I snapped back. "But unless you know another way…" I breathed in deeply and savoured the last remains of tobacco in my mouth before I walked on. As I had arrived just a few feet away from the chest, I heard a clang. Here goes.

A cage fell down from the ceiling and locked me in. "Oh that is so not cool," I mumbled then I heard a thud behind me. I turned around and saw a _thing_ had landed inside the cage with me. Its eyes were sewn shut and sharp long blades extended from his hands. "What the fuck is that..?"

It roared at the sound of my voice and rushed towards me. With a shriek a jumped to the left ending up in the arms off a cult who hissed angrily. "No, get off! Get the fuck off!" I shot a bullet through his forehead.

"Alex behind you!"

The blades missed me by an inch as that thing came soaring past again, waving his arms in attempt to hit me. I hid behind the chest. "Leon, what the hell is that thing?"

"It's blind!" he told me while he fought off the cults outside the cage. "It bases his actions on his hearing!"

It attacked me again and I rolled over the ground to avoid his arms. One of his swings got me however and three cuts ran across my side. "Aw, son of a…" I pressed my mouth closed.

"Stay absolutely quiet," Leon whispered and sneaked along the cage. I pressed my back against the metal bars and watched how the creature sauntered round the chest; head raised high, trying to detect a sound. I held my breath when it approached me, slowly. He didn't know I was there, not for sure, but somehow, I think he felt my presence. He breathed loudly and the stench made me twitch. Now I recognised it. It was the same thing I had found lying on the dungeon floor.

I heard a shot and the monster roared in anger, turning round and round and I saw a parasite attached to his back. Leon now ran around and fired the lock on one of the cage's doors. "Alex, hurry." I fled out of the cage before it would awake from his distraction and attack me again. I now cursed softly and touched the tingling cuts on my thigh. Meanwhile, Leon ran along the cage, firing bullets into the parasite until finally, the thing gave in and sank to the ground.

"That was utterly disgusting," I told him.

"You okay?"

"I've had worse," I told him. "Come on, let's go save ourselves a lady in trouble."

* * *

"Hey, could you give me a warning before you fire that thing?" I shouted back at Leon. He'd sniped an enclosing enemy from a higher ledge. That bloody bastard had half exploded right next to my ear and now my neck was soaked in warm smelly blood. I'd lowered myself down to pull a lever that would open a bridge to the next room. Leon had stayed up there like a good boy and watched my back. I already regretted it. With a sigh I pulled down the lever and with a rumble the bridge was raised behind me.

"Alex, little help here!"

How nice, Leon was in deep shit. When I headed back for the ladder, a morning star missed me by an inch and I jumped to the side with a shriek. "Oh, you're so gonna regret that!" I told the hooded freak behind the iron gate. I climbed up the ladder whistling and pressed myself against the wall when suddenly a cultist jumped down from above me. "Hey, watch where you're going, shitface!" I cried and shot a bullet through his head. Upstairs Leon was being assaulted by several cultists coming from over the bridge. I ignored them however and rushed past.

"Alex?" Leon cried after me.

Sorry, Leon. You just ain't that important. I took a left then jumped down the ledge to greet the morning star. "Swing at me, huh?" I snapped and fired three shotgun shells in his chest. "Punk." Taking this route had brought me past a showcase and my jaw dropped in awe. "Jesus loves me." I broke the glass and extended my hands to touch the shiny rocket launcher mounted beautifully in front of me. There were several grenades lying alongside it, but I only had eyes for this baby. A rocket launcher.

"ALEX!"

"Don't you spoil this for me, Leon," I mumbled as I took the launcher and attached it to my backpack. "Just in case." Then I bounded up the stairs, took my TMP, shot the guy that dared stand between me and the door and then pumped some lead into a few of those smiling bastards that had run across the bridge.

"You sure took your sweet time."

"Prior engagements my dear," I told him, "surely you didn't expect yourself to be on top of my to do list?"

"I had my hopes up. Where the hell did you get that?"

I patted the rocket launcher with a smile. "I'm saving it for a special occasion." I shot a final parasite crawling out of a decomposing body then tucked away my gun. I checked the door behind me. Nothing. What's taking you so long, Luis? I've actually slowed down for you. Three guns are better than a cocky attitude and a homicidal bitch. With a sigh I crossed the bridge.

"You've been looking behind you quite a few times now," Leon said. Wow, it observes. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing," I mumbled as I opened the door. "It's-" I was startled by screaming.

"Leon! Help!" a girl's voice cried. "Help me, Leon!"

"Ashley!" Leon soared past me into the room.

I rolled my eyes and followed him. Men…

"Alex!"

I turned around and saw the door we had just past had opened and Luis stepped in. Involuntarily, I beamed. "Luis." Took you long enough, lazy ass.

He waved a test tube in his one hand and a bottle of pills in the other with a triumphant smirk. "I've got it!"

Why do things slip from my grip so easily?

His eyes widened and the smirk vanished. All he did was stare blankly into my face. I knew that look. "No…" Something sharp suddenly penetrated his chest and blood spluttered out. He cried in pain as the tentacle lifted him into the air then smacked him down onto the ground. "LUIS!" Turning my eyes towards the door, I saw Saddler who took the tube Luis had dropped from the ground.

"Now that I have the sample, you serve me no purpose," he said while looking down upon Luis' jolting body.

I clenched my fists. Not again. Not _fucking_ again! "Saddler!"

"My boy Salazar will make sure you follow the same fate," he told me with a smirk and left the room.

I had reached for my rocket launcher, but knew it was pointless. I could only use it if I had a clear shot at him. I couldn't risk missing him. I was about to go after him, kick his ass, strangle him, pull out his eyes, shove them down his throat then gash open his stomach and pull out his insides, when I heard Luis groan at my feet. I looked down at him. It was John all over again.

"Alex," he said hoarsely and clutched my ankle.

I crouched and took his hand. "You're such a fuck."

"Listen to me, Alex," he told me, "I was a researcher, hired by Saddler. He found out what I was up to…" His chuckle turned into a painful moan and his body cramped up.

"Don't you start confessing on me," I said through gritted teeth.

He opened my hand and pressed a bottle of pills in it. "Here, it should suppress growth of the parasite… The sample…" He stared into my eyes. "Saddler took… You must get it back…"

I dropped the bottle of pills and took his face in my hands. "Don't you fuckin' die on me. You hear? I'll kick your ass!"

He smirked arrogantly.

"Luis." I shook his head but his eyes seemed to have frozen in place, forever focussed in my eyes. "Luis." He wouldn't answer. I shuffled back against the balustrade and stared at his body. The pool of blood I had crouched in had stained my knees. I pressed a hand against my mouth, trying to ignore the nauseous feeling spreading over my entire body. Seeing him lying there, seeing that once again someone I cared about had been pulled away from my grip made me dizzy. That was the second time I'd had to watch somebody die, somebody I cared about, knowing I did not have the power to help him. I felt so weak. It was a feeling I truly loathed.

In the far distance I heard Ashley's cries and gunfire. Leon shouted my name. But I was frozen in that position.

Had it been more than just caring? I hadn't experienced the same feeling I had felt when I was with John, but somehow, being around Luis had made me feel like somebody understood. I hadn't felt like that in years. And I had missed it so badly.

"ALEX!"

I turned round, aimed and shot the cult that was carrying Ashley away in the knee. He dropped to the floor and Ashley crawled back up.

"I got the key!" she said and waved something shiny in her hand, and then she ran off.

I turned back round and pressed the palm off my hand against my eyes. Not a third one, you bastards. No more.

"Alex." Leon crouched beside me.

"That's Luis," I said and pointed at his body.

"I see. I'm sorry."

"So much shit has happened lately," I sighed. "It almost makes you think they're doing it on purpose. Well fuck them, fuck them all. I'll get Ashley back no matter what happens. Even if it decapitates, pierces or crushes me, I'll get her home safely. I'm bad. I'm heartbroken. And I've got nothing to lose. Nothing can top that." I picked up the bottle Luis had given me and checked the red and white pills inside. All that trouble to get me this. "Where is Ashley, actually?" I asked him.

"She's trying to find a way around. We wait here."

"And if she doesn't show up?"

"We'll wait some more."

I smiled feebly and opened the bottle. "To your health," I told him and swallowed one of the bicoloured pills.

"What's that for?"

"The parasite growing inside of me," I said with a cheerful smile, "once it grows into an adult, Saddler will have complete control over me. This should keep it down for a while." I cleared my throat and searched my backpack. "I think I deserve this one right now," I said as I pulled out the second and last cigarette. Shivering slightly I lit the end and took a drag.

"Once Ashley's back, we'll hightail it out of here," Leon told me.

"Let's do just that," I whispered softly.

A door to our left opened and in peeked a blonde. She was pale as snow but the frightened look on her face melted away when she saw me. "Alex!" She rushed up screaming and flung her arms around my neck. As she banged straight into me, I lost grip of my cigarette and it fell down in the pool of blood.

Ah, for crying out loud… Unfair.

"You're back!" she sang happily. "I knew you'd be back! I told him so! Oh here…" She released me and pulled something out from underneath her shirt. "I found this."

"Ugh, not another one," I grunted when she handed me the solid stone serpent carved ornament. "Honestly I'm gonna have a sore back when I get back home." I gave a nod towards the distant door. "Come on girl, let's get out of here."

* * *

"We go this way."

"No, we go that way."

Ashley whimpered when after taking just a few steps, we reached an intersection and the hostility between me and Leon began to peak again. One of the possibilities was taking a cart leading into a tunnel, thus the logic way to take, the other one was a platform balancing on two giant wheels leading towards a door.

"Guys, please," she begged.

"I ain't touching that shabby looking thing," I said pointing at the construction. "If you wanna go ahead and risk your life unnecessarily, then by all means, be my guest! That thing would do me a favour."

"Fine, you wait here with Ashley, I'll go check it out," he said.

I grinned. If that thing crashed down, I would be _so_ bloody happy. "You've got fifteen minutes Leon. Then we take the cart."

He gave a nod then carefully stepped onto the platform, foot by foot. It jolted under his weight and then started to roll slowly towards the door.

"Be careful, Leon!" Ashley cried and I snorted when he stepped into the room behind.

"If I'm lucky that'll be the last time I see him," I sighed. "Now that I have my source of conversation back, there's no need to be nice to him anymore. Oh and hey…" I pressed a finger against her chest. "Just for the record. If your father would happen to ask where the hell you learned language like that young lady, tell them it was the mouthy villagers."

"The _Spanish_ mouthy villagers?" she asked me, arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

I chuckled. I had to admit, she was a lot better than Leon. "Tell him whatever you want. Just don't get my ass fired, okay?"

"As long as you get me back, right?" she said and I raised a thumb.

"Right, now hop on kid," I said and settled myself on one of the comfy royal red sofas in the cart.

"Weren't we supposed to wait?"

"Darling, please," I told her, "you want to get back or not? I'm a woman. I have instinct. That direction reeks. Even if Leon makes it out alive, he'll just have to catch up with us."

"You still don't like him, huh?" she asked and sat down on the other side of the cart.

I lied back and flung my arms over the back. "That, my dear," I said as we began to move, "is an understatement."

* * *

"Nope," I said and tossed away another Saddler painting. "Nothing, nothing, nothing!"

Ashley watched how I ranted on. Behind her, the two animal ornaments had been placed in the Salazar painting. But a third one was still missing. She had told me how this had been the place where she'd first seen Salazar and that he had disappeared behind that wall. "Fuck!" She shrunk when I cursed again.

"Okay, no problem," I told her. "We'll just have to think. What did we miss…"

"Maybe Leon…"

"No, Leon's direction was not the correct one," I told her. "I refuse to believe that _Leon_ went the right way! There is no possibility! I have female instincts!"

A door opened behind my back and I spun round and pulled my gun. It was Kennedy. "Do that to me again and I'll use it as an excuse to shoot you," I told him bitterly, then smirked. "I see you went the wrong way." A hole was burned through his pants and his right shoulder looked nasty.

To my surprise he smirked back. "I see you're still missing a piece."

I crossed my arms and held my head high. "What of it?" My cheeks turned crimson when he showed me the final Lion ornament with that cocky look on his face. I stared down at the ground stubbornly. If there was one thing worse than me being wrong, it was Leon being right.

The hallway lead us outside and I was glad to once again smell the sweet scent of fresh air. Then we walked on, back into the castle. "Okay, uh, let's go this way," I said and pointed to my right.

"Your instinct?"

"Fuck you, Kennedy," I mumbled and lead the way. "Now really, what kind of person would hang curtains like this. Yes, we want to make our castle look as scary as possible. I hope you eel particularly uncomfortable."

"They're just curtains, Alex," Leon said and rolled his eyes.

"And the silken sad uncertain," I began to quote Poe as we walked along the flowing curtains, "rustling of each purple curtain, thrilled me, filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before." On the other side there stood two statues with their hands cupped in front of them. "So that now to still the beating of my heart I stood repeating: 'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door, some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door. Merely this-" I leaned over to Leon and whispered into Leon's ear: "Nothing more."

"Feeling poetic?"

"The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe," I smiled sweetly. "It's fascinating how much it matches this castle's atmosphere. As for this." I knocked the large wooden door. "This looks rather impenetrable."

"I guess that for once your instincts have failed you," Leon said.

"No," I told him. "This is in fact the door we need. All we need to do is find a way to open it."

"A drink to our majesty," Ashley read from one of the statues.

"I could fancy a drink myself," I sighed deeply. "All right back we go."

Scanning the room more thoroughly we found two routes to take. "I'll head this way with Ashley," I said. "You check the other route. We meet again at the statues."

He nodded and our routes parted.

I sighed as if I had been holding my breath for minutes. "Glad that's over. If I never have to see him again after this mission, I'll die a happy girl."

"Alex…"

"I know, he'll never get off my back. Thinking he will is merely a dream."

"What makes you think that?"

"Prophet said I!" I cried. "Thing of evil!" Ashley followed me with a giggle as I wandered dramatically through the room. "Prophet still, if bird or devil! Get thee back into the tempest of the night's Plutonian shore! Leave no black plume as a token of the _lie_ thy soul hath spoken, leave my loneliness unbroken, quit the bust above my door! Take thy beak from out my heart and take thy form from of my door!" I waved my hand towards Ashley. "Quoth the raven?"

She smiled sadly. "Nevermore."

* * *

**Queen Luana: **I know that last quote isn't correct. That stanza begins with 'Be that our word of parting…' but it matched what I wanted to achieve better this way. I know the poem by heart, except for a misplaced word here and there. I won't be writing about every level in the game since it takes too frickin' long and because it mostly just exists out of 'and then we shot a guy then another one came in and we shot his ass and then I ran up the stairs and killed another guy'. I'll keep the interesting levels and most of the cutscenes. And yeah I'm leaving out Ada as well. Else it'll get a little too complicated. So, review. Thanks.


	10. Chapter 10

**Queen Luana:** Here I am, once again. I'm watching **boffyrox**' walkthrough on youtube. Yeah, the name lacks subtlety, but the guy's funny and, unlike **NintendoCentral**; he does the walkthrough with ordinary weapons. Seriously. Why would people need a walkthrough if they have the Chicago Typewriter? And holy Christ it's eight AM! How early did I get up? I mean, I went to bed at two AM or something… Oh, and I realised it was a toast to our royal majesty, instead of a drink. Sorry about that, I'll make it right this time.

* * *

**Armodur-my-ass**

"I'm telling you it's not safe!" Ashley clutched my arm.

Ahead of me was a small corridor with armour leaning against the walls. Some were staring straight ahead, like armours usually do. A few however had turned to me and raised their blades.

"They attacked me while I was finding a way back," she said.

I tucked a dread behind my ear and released my arm from Ashley's grip. "I've had worse than some scrap metal."

"Just be careful."

I reloaded my Colt just to be sure, then stepped forward cautiously. They were just armour, big deal. Then why did I feel like being watched while walking through. I heard a shriek next to my ear and from the corner of my eye saw a piece of shiny metal coming down. Coming down fast. I dived forward, feeling the air sweep past my thigh as I did. I tumbled over the ground and landed on my back, at the feet of another armour. "Shit…" The blade came down, I rolled to my right quickly and the axe pierced the ground where my head had been nanoseconds ago. I stared at the ceiling, gasping for air, while the armour collapsed and fell into shreds on the flour.

"Alex?!" Ashley ran to me and leaned over. "You okay?"

"I've seen my life flash by too many times already," I muttered and allowed her to help me up.

"Scrap metal huh?"

"Yeah, ouch…" I touched the cuts on my side and saw they had started to bleed again.

"Where'd you get that?" She asked me as I dabbed it with a hanky.

"You don't wanna know," I told her, "let's hope you don't live to see one. Hah… Perhaps that's not the right thing to say considering the circumstances." I patted her shoulder. "Let's hope you'll see plenty." The corridor had made us walk straight into a round room. "Funny thing, those round rooms," I said as Ashley approached the showcase standing in the middle, "they always look so… booby trapped."

"Look," Ashley said and pointed at the golden cup. "A toast to our royal majesty?"

"Good, nice perceptivity," I said. "You only missed one slightly vital detail." I pointed at the golden plaque underneath it. "May wrath of evil befall the one who disturbs this holy grail."

"Oh… that's not good," she said and bit her lip.

"No actually it is," I smiled, "it means this truly is what we're looking for." I took my shotgun. "Step out of the room."

"Are you actually going to take it?" she asked me in disbelieve. "Guns can't always save you."

"I know," I smiled. "The ceiling can come crashing down. This place could turn into an inferno. Things like these take a little bit of reason and a little bit of luck." I pointed at four rectangular walls. "See those things? They look awfully turnable. It wouldn't amaze me if something came barging in as soon as I take the cup. And I don't think that the ceiling will fall down, neither that this room will burst into flames. It could damage the grail. Then again…" I smiled broadly. "I could be wrong. So step outside."

She nodded reluctantly and shuffled out of the room.

I took a deep breath. "Here goes. Don't let me down." I took the grail. Almost instantly the walls I had observed earlier turned. Hell yeah. The entrance to the room closed as well and Ashley shouted my name before I faced my enemies. And fuck I wish the ceiling had come down.

In stepped three armours with their axes and swords. Eyeless as they were they spotted my instantly and steadily headed towards me.

Piece of…

* * *

Ashley was walking back and forth in front of the sealed room and jumped when it opened again and I staggered out. "I need to sit down for a moment," I told her and pressed the grail into her hands. I sank down against the wall, trembling.

"You okay?" she asked me and checked my body for any serious injuries.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I told her, "it's okay. There were six of them in total… they just wouldn't go down. Now, let's sit and rest." I closed my eyes and listened to the wind howling outside. There were noises here and there, but they were too far off to be considered dangerous.

"Maybe I'll become an agent myself someday," Ashley suddenly stated.

I opened my eyes and looked at her. She had the grail tightly clutched against her chest but her face didn't show the least bit of fear or weakness. I smiled feebly. "Maybe someday you will."

"I just figured," she continued, "I've gone through so much already. Always protected by either you or Leon of course, but still…" She turned to me. "Would you teach me how to use a gun?"

I laughed and straightened up. "Once I get rid of my irresponsible reputation, maybe I will."

"Irresponsible?" she said.

"During my training, I've given many supervisors a nervous breakdown," I told her. "They couldn't handle my style. I relied too much on cheer luck. Nevertheless, all my assignments were successive, but people just don't like being on my team. They can't keep up and they get hurt. If I tell them I have a potential student…" I punched her shoulder with a laugh and she winced. "They'll certify you insane and possibly suicidal."

"That's okay," she said softly. "My father wouldn't allow it anyway."

I stood up and pulled her to her feet. "I'll have a word with him when we get back."

* * *

"Where have you been?" Leon was waiting back at the statues when we came running.

"Girl talk," I told him sweetly while Ashley placed the grail in the hands of the King's Statue. I saw another grail had been placed in the Queen's hands and in a matter of seconds de doors opened.

"I was worried," he said while we walked on into another hallway and pushed the next door open.

"Okay, now that is just fucking gross," I said. We had entered a room with a small path leading to the other side. There was something hanging right above it. It was buzzing, it was pulsing, it was sliming, it was making me nauseous. "Seriously who would want to live in a place like this."

"I suggest we move fast," Leon stated. "Head towards the door on the other side."

"Hey hang on a sec," I suddenly said.

"What?"

I checked my cell phone. "It's been hours since I heard of Hunnigan!" I cried. I hadn't missed any calls and my battery was just fine. "I just realised! She hasn't been bothering me for ages."

"Alex, this really isn't the time," Leon hissed.

"No, seriously," I said. "Something must've happened!"

"Save it for later, we have to leave!"

With a nod I tucked away my cell and we fastened our pace and made our way across. We were halfway however when the buzzing got louder and swooshed right past my ear. Ashley screamed when some sort of steroid bug clutched her waist and lifted her up into the air.

"ALEX!"

"Ashley!" I cried and saw her disappear out of one of the windows. "Damn it. If that girl wasn't so kidnap-prone I'd think I really suck at my job."

Leon hushed me.

"Don't you hush me!"

"There's more of them," he told me and listening carefully, I heard more buglike buzzing. "Let's move."

"Right." We hurried across the bridge when two of them landed in front of us. Hissing and squeaking they approached us.

"Don't let them come near you," Leon told me as we both pulled our guns.

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious!" I said and rolled my eyes. We shot them and ran on.

"We can't let them get away with Ashley!" Leon said as we busted through the door and ran back outside.

We had just reached a bridge when my cell rang. Fuck yes, can't believe I was glad to hear that annoying woman. "Hunnigan?" I said with a smile when I flicked open my cell. There was cold laughter on the other side.

"Afraid not, miss Grace," a high Spanish voice came from the other side. "I wonder if you can see me."

"Salazar!" I snapped. Where the fuck had he gotten my cell number? "You lay a finger on her, I'll let you know what it feels like to have your brains scooped from your skull!"

He laughed at my threat. "We shall see if you can make it this far. I'll be waiting."

"Salazar!"

He hung up.

I wanted to toss it away in frustration but mustered enough control to put it away again.

"Alex, over there," Leon said and motioned to our right. I could just catch a glimpse of that darn midget waving at me before he walked into another section of the castle.

"I shall enjoy killing him soooo much," I said through gritted teeth.

"Come on, let's hurry. Run."

Fuck this. I was _so_ glad I could talk to somebody else but me; I'm excluding insulting and belittling Leon here. Even though Ashley had been a real pain in the ass at times up until now, with her being kidnapped and all, at least she hadn't been a cocky testosteronmachine that had been responsible for the death of my future husband years ago. And yeah, I think I'll blame him for Luis' death as well. Until I get to Saddler, I need a scapegoat.

We crossed the first bridge, ran around the clock tower and onto the second bridge where we were welcomed by a few shielded cultists making their way towards us. "Grenade," I said but Leon stopped me.

"You want to risk blowing up the bridge?" he snapped. "Leave it to me."

"Fine," I said and crossed my arms while he took his rifle. "Do whatever your cocky attitude tells you to do."

"You don't really have the right to call somebody cocky, you know Alex," he told me while he sniped the first cultist and then the second.

"Well, just tell your cocky attitude that there are a few of them coming from behind us as well."

"What?!" He spun round and could just shoot an incoming cultist that had stood about a yard away from him.

"You have a jolly good time," I said and took my shotgun. "I'll take care of these guys." Blast, splutter, I love my job. I've experienced some mixed feelings during my stay in this area concerning my job. Strange. "You freakin' freaks!" Okay, it's about time we get out of here, I'm running out of tough catchphrases. I might even end up talking like Leon… ugh…

One of the cultists dared sneaking up on me while I was reloading. Then this is what you get. Knife slices open wrist, Alex sneaks up real close to you and presses her handgun in your neck. "See you in hell." I fired and nearly black blood splashed onto my face. Thank God, I had my mouth close as I'm sure I would've retched and vomited on the spot. And that would've ruined my shoes. I like my shoes. I wiped off the blood. "There's more coming in," I told Leon who was still going at it with his handgun. "I suggest we run for it."

And so we did, across the bridge at high speed. I was exhausted but I ran nonetheless. I really had to work on my stamina. I had none. I pushed the gate open and Leon and I barged in. I pushed the door close again and Leon shoved a closet in front of it.

"That oughta keep them busy for a while," he said. "In the meantime, let's go find Ashley."

* * *

We found Salazar with his two cloaked henchmen in a large room. He had settled down on his throne and smiled with glee when we enterred. Ashley was kneeled down and guarded by two spears held in front of her. She looked up when she saw us. "Alex! Leon!"

I stepped forward. "Salazar! Why I oughta…"

Leon held me back. "Take it easy…"

Salazar laughed mockingly. "You two don't know when to throw in the towel…" He waved with his one hand then pressed a red button right next to his chair.

"Red buttons suck," I muttered and checked around me. You know that feeling when you're half asleep and suddenly it's like your bed disappears and you fall down for a sec? You know how much of a relief it is to find that after that nanosecond of fear you're still lying safely in your bed?

Then you should be able to figure out how much of an _un_relief it is when the ground doesn't reappear.

We sank right into the ground and I saw the room flashing by when both Leon and me fell down. I shrieked wave my arms and managed to tighten them around Leon's waste. I heard a cable being released and he jolted then came to a sudden halt. I almost lost my grip.

Leon however coughed when my arms tugged at his waist. "Alex…" he grunted. He looked round and saw a brass shaft at which he aimed his handgun while the other hand held the cable that was keeping us from crashing down tightly. "Won't fall for this old trick…" He fired once then tucked his gun away. "Okay, hang on, I'm gonna lower us down."

"Just for the record," I told him as we descended, now with my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, "you did _not_ just save my ass. I saved my _own_ ass by clinging onto you."

"Whatever you say, Alex…"

We dropped down on moist ground. "Well what do you know," I said with a smile and watched the large spikes we had fortunately missed, "there _is_ a spike pit in here."

"What's that?"

"Nuthin'." We both turned on our flashlights. "God, it's cold in here."

"Ladder," Leon said and pointed at what his flashlight illuminated. "Right there."

We made our way for it and climbed up. I checked my cell. No connection. Good, now that midget can't bother me for a while. "Funny how death pits always have exits, don't you think?" I smiled as we stood in front of a tunnel.

"Ladies first."

"There go my shoes," I said and splashed into the ankle deep sewer water. "Ugh, that smells. And it's soaking into my shoes! Maan… I've just dried up from the pouring rain outside."

"It stopped raining a while ago."

"Yeah whatever," I mumbled. We wandered through the sewer water. "So, know any good jokes?"

"Not really. You?"

"A guy walks into a bar. And he says: 'Ouch!'" I nudged him. "Get it? Get it? Ah forget it…" I climbed the steps leading to dry ground and a door and walked in. "Believe it or not, I think we're being followed."

"Your instincts again?" he asked me and rolled his eyes while we wandered through the dark hallway.

"You can say whatever you want, but they've never been wrong," I told him and I pressed a finger against his chest. "It may've led me to locked doors, but to the right ones nonetheless."

"You've just got luck on your side-"

The door behind us slammed open and we turned around. Nothing.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked him.

"I don't know," he mumbled. "But let's not take any chances and move."

"Right." We hurried through the tunnel, following the arrows indicated on the walls. "There's something moving," I breathed as we took a right. I had heard clattering aside the sound made by our feet on the metal grids. We barged into the elevator room.

Leon hurried towards the elevator shaft. "The power's out."

"Shit," I cursed. "Out of here."

"Well, where is it?"

"I don't fucking know!" I told him as we ran back into the tunnel. My heart skipped a beat as we ran. "It's above us." I ducked out of the way when I heard a noise right above me and saw a sharp tentacle missing me by an inch or so. I saw Leon's face going pale and he gazed up. I staggered to my feet and broke into a run.

Leon pulled himself together and followed me. "What is that thing?!"

"How should I know?" I cried and blinked when we ran right passed a red bottle. "What's in the tanks?"

"The what?"

"The tanks! We passed two of them already!" I told him. We reached another door and ran inside. "This seems like the power room…" Taking from all the heavy machines, it was. "Find something, a switch or I don't know. Turn the power back on!" There was another red tank standing in the room. I read the subscription. "Liquid Nitrogen." I frowned. What's that doing here? I heard clattering above me. "It's in here."

I heard Leon scream in surprise and saw him fall backwards. Yeah, it would've been little trouble to check whether he was okay, but I figured finding a switch to bring the power back thus guaranteeing my _own_ life, was more important. Call me selfish; see if I care.

Around the corner, all the way in the back, I found a large red lever. "Thank you." I pulled it down and heard a strange noise. "Leon?"

"The door closed!"

"What?" I ran back into the clear. "What do you mean the door closed?" There was no way I had actually pulled a switch that worked _against_ me!

"It's a safety lock!" he said.

"Well then try to open it!" I said in annoyance and stepped up to push him aside and let me do it, when something, _something_, suddenly dropped down between us. It looked at me. And it looked pissed off. "Leon, if you don't hurry up and get that door open, I will so kick your ass." I stumbled backwards staring straight into the tall creature's red eyes. I bumped into the tank of nitrogen. Hello…

The thing hissed at me. I turned around and knocked down the tank. I burst open and a thick white vapour consumed the creature and froze it in place. I could feel it glare at me, but all it could do in actions was twitch slightly.

"The door's open!" Leon cried and I quickly made my way past the still frozen creature. Leon was waiting by the door.

"Don't just stand there!" I shouted in his face. "Fucking run, you idiot!" We sprinted through the tunnel, back to the elevator. Way in the back, I could hear the clanging on the metal grids, warning me the creature was on the move again. "Get in the elevator! Now, now, now!" We jumped in, I pressed the button and with a shudder the elevator went down. I panted and wiped the sweat off my forehead.

"Well, that was scary…" Leon breathed.

"That's it," I said, "one more tentacle thing trying to impale me, and I'm asking for a raise."

* * *

**Queen Luana: **You're probably wondering what I'm keeping the rocket launcher for. Not too many choices are there? Hey, I've finished this pretty quickly now haven't I? Sweet. Probably because it's autumn break as you might call it. No school for a sweet week. Hey, does anyone of you happen to know what software/hardware I need to be able to upload the games I play as videos on y computer. Yeah I'm not that good with words. You know, the stuff I'd need to make a walkthrough. Ah whatever, I'll ask a store clerk or something.


	11. Chapter 11

**Queen Luana :** There are more people reading this than I thought there would be. I mean, it's just another imaginary character ending up in freaky Resident Evil world, right? Oh well, I guess it's because Alex is cool. I wish I were more like her. I am going to get dreadlocks at the end of this year, or the next. Depends on whether I'm going to study in a different country. If I do, I'll let you know. Perchance we'll meet. Yes, perchance, I felt Shakespearian. I'm skipping lots of parts here. I skipped the two Garadors in the last chapter and now I'm skipping the two El Gigantes. Yes, I'm a bitch and your boyfriend loves it.

* * *

**When it all goes to ruins**

I peeked over the edge of the ladder and scanned the vicinity. A crow fluttered up into the nightly air, cawing loudly before disappearing into the darkness. I had resurfaced in the middle of ruins. I could see the light of a bonfire dancing against one of the topped over walls. The air was moist and chilly.

"See anything?" Leon asked below me, voice dimmed.

"Nothing life-threatening," I said and climbed up. "Man I'm glad to smell the fresh air again." I breathed in deeply. "You know the one thing that's better than fresh air? The scent of a cigarette."

"Wouldn't it be a little ironic if you get out of here in one piece only to die of lung cancer back home?" Leon asked me.

I shrugged. "Let's clear the area. Spread out soldier."

We scanned the ruins separately and shot ourselves a lovely bunch of psyched villagers. I had to say; I liked those freaks better then those irritating humming ones. There weren't many of them, but still enough to scare the shit out of me every now and then. At the end of the ruins was a door. I checked it, but it was locked. Didn't see that coming, eh folks? There was a giant lion head engraved in it, with a plaque underneath it.

"Offer the sacrifice to the lion." I sighed deeply. "Another one of those things."

"Alex!"

I hurried towards Leon's call and found him standing in front of a hole in the ground. "The door leading onwards is locked. We need a sacrifice of some sort that fits in it. Whatcha got here?"

"It leads back down. I don't know where."

"Okay," I smiled and tucked my gun away. "I'll go and check it out. You stay up here and guard the entrance."

"Guard it?"

"Yes, so nobody pushes a boulder over it or something," I said sweetly. "Don't worry Leon, next time, you get to do the fun part. Oh, could I borrow your rifle? You never know. Here." I stomped my TMP in his hands. "Let's trade."

"Got a hunch you'll need it?" he asked me with raised eyebrow.

I climbed down after I winked at him. If I were really to call myself lucky, while I was down here, somebody up there would eat his brains. Hah, that'd make my day. Fresh air and a corpse. I landed on a sandy soil and rubbed my hands in anticipation. "Okay, tomblike environment, what have you got in store for me?" I crept forward and found myself at the entrance of a cave. This really reminded me of _The Mummy_. You know, the movie with the guy and the priest and the Imothep stuff. No really, when you think of it. There are lots of mindless people wandering around here too.

I could see them from where I was standing, scattered between the old dilapidated walls. This is exactly why I had brought the rifle. I brought it to my eye. Headshot, baby. But after the first shot and brains being smeared all over a wall I was startled by an all too familiar noise. It was far away, but it was horrifying. I had already encountered too many of those. Further ahead, I could hear a chainsaw being started.

"Oh, that is not cool," I mumbled and to my left saw a large building and a masked man standing in one of the holes in it. "You people are such fucks." I aimed and fired a bullet through his blood soaked bag. He stood up a few more times, then I got him. "You piece of shit." I trotted down the stairs leading me into the mummy area. I made my way across to the door on the other side. I wasn't the least bit surprised to find it locked. "Fuck." What is it with these people and locked doors?

I scratched the back of my head. Then I saw a door at the back of the building where I'd just sniped the chainsaw dude. Okay then. I hurried over there, eager to get going and pushed it open. "Ayi esta!" I expected to find an ignorant villager standing there shouting at me. Instead I jumped back and watched how a second chainsaw missed me by an inch. "Holy shit!" I dropped the rifle, pulled out my shotgun and fired. He was blown back against the wall and laid there motionlessly. I clutched for a wall. "There goes another one of my nine lives…"

Still trembling, I went inside, found the key upstairs and kept moving.

When I get back I'm gonna take a long hot bath, buy myself a paint of Ben & Jerry's, cookie dough, that is, and watch some sloppy romantic comedy. Maybe I'll even get laid. Yeah, after that I'll go partying. Party and get drunk and wake up in a place you don't know. That's what I want right now.

I do _not, _however, want a roller coaster ride.

Grumbling I climbed into the mine carts. "This is so not funny." With a sigh I raised my handgun, shot the lever making the carts move, then prepared for the worst. And the worst it was. People came jumping in from everywhere. Some of them took their jump to early and ended up underneath the cart. Easy kill. Others landed right behind me or worse… on top of me.

"Get the fuck off!" I cried and tried to push the Spanians ugly rotten face away from mine.

He groaned, spat and shouted straight in my face as if he was about to bite me. The stench almost made me puke.

I found my Colt, smacked him in the head and rolled over. "I get to be on top," I snapped before blasting his head into pieces. Ugh, the thought of sleeping with one of these guys only… I was helped up, unfortunately not by two friendly hands but by another villager threatening to strangle me from behind for some reason. "I said get the fuck off!" I drilled my elbow into his face and he tumbled backwards out of the cart.

I heard a chainsaw starting up and frowned. In the distance I saw another chainsawman standing on a ledge ready to jump in. "Oh no you won't!" I shot a bullet through his head and he fell down onto the track with a scream. The mine cart jolted when it hit him and I clutched for the edge to keep my balance. As if riding this thing alone wasn't dangerous enough. I ducked in order to miss a low hanging board and before I realised it, a group of seven or so jumped into the front mine cart. My mine cart.

I screamed as they all grabbed whatever part of my body they could reach and pulled as if they were trying to pull me apart. I grunted and tried to shake them of but my hands were tightly clasped. To make matters worse, the mine cart now started descending at high speed and my stomach did a back flip. "You people really have no will to live whatsoever!" I cried and managed to slam two heads together, making them release my arms. There was another board hanging low over the track. I dived, they didn't and three were slammed back into the back cart.

There were no hands clasping me anymore and I reached for my gun. Only then the cold wind hit me and I saw, in horror, that the track was gone. Below us there would in a matter of seconds be nothing but a deep and endless gorge. "Oh shit…" The mine cart broke free from the track and soared through the air for a split second. I rushed forwards, took the greatest leap I had ever leapt and flew through the air for what seemed to be minutes. The other part of the road was still yards away and I reached forward desperately. It was almost within my reach.

Both my hands clutched around the edge of the old wooden boards. Only a second after relief washed over me, the terror returned when I felt a cold hand clasp around my ankle. I looked down and saw one of the villagers dangling there, hissing. He wasn't trying to save himself. He was trying to pull me down. "Let go!" I cried in fear and shook my leg, but he held on tightly. His weight pulled me down and my hands started to slip away. "I said let go!" I found a rock right next to my left hand. I took the risk, grabbed the rock, threw it down and heard a satisfying thud and shout. I shook my leg once more and the villager fell into the depths.

"God damn it," I muttered, took a deep breath and pulled myself up. This place sucks. I rested for a moment and then headed into the tunnel. Let's go check up on Leon. There's no way I'll die before he does.

A smile spread on my face when I climbed out of the tunnel. I found myself back in the ruins up on the surface and saw Leon sitting by the fire. He looked up when he saw me. He seemed to have been half asleep. I waved the Stone of Sacrifice. "Got it."

"How did it go?"

I placed the sacrifice in the Lion's mouth. "No sweat."

"No really, that must be one of the most shitty looking things I have _ever_ seen," I said with a smile. We had taken the elevator up and now found ourselves standing right in front of a giant Salazar Statue. "Well, you know what they say about a man's preference for big…"

Leon looked down. "There's a path that leads outside," he said. He jumped down off the ledge and landed with a stumble on the steps bellow.

I sighed when I looked down. "So, this is awfully high… Is there a rope anywhere near or something? Or a curtain?"

"Just jump, Alex," Leon said hands in his hips. "I'll catch you."

"Oh really?"

"Jump."

"You sure? I'm carrying some heavy equipments here."

"_Alex_."

I rolled my eyes and jumped.

Now, I've never had any lessons concerning how to jump when somebody intends on catching you. So I fell face down half into his arms, half on top of him, he lost his balance and we stumbled down the steps. We landed at Salazar's feet, him lying on top of me, noses squashed together. I pushed his face away grumpily. "Get off of me, shitface."

"Next time maybe some calculation before you jump, Alex," he told me as we both got up.

"I truly wish with all my heart that there won't be a next time," I said. "Let's get out of here." My foot hovered above what had been a path a split second ago. Now it was nothing but water. "Those fucks." Loud rumbling emerged from behind us and as I turned I saw that the arms of the statue had begun moving up and down. Cultists came flooding into the room. "Well Leon, they're all yours," I smiled and crossed my arms. "I'll stay here and guard the water."

With a grunt he turned around and headed back up the steps. The next minutes were the highlight of my day. Leon grumbled as he saw me cramped up with laughter while he jumped from hand to hand, dodging incoming morningstars and arrows.

"God, I wish I had a camera," I cried and wiped away a tear from the corner of my eye. "Wait, I have…" I flicked open my cellphone and started recording the best thirty seconds of my life. "This is priceless." A flaming arrow missed me by an inch. I looked up and saw a crossbower reloading. "What the hell was that?" I took my handgun and shot him down. "You people really kill the fun." I checked my cellphone to watch the recording I had made when half of the path rose up behind me. "You're halfway Kennedy!"

I saw him pant in exhaustion as he jumped onto Salazar's right hand and kicked down a cultist. "If only Ashley were here." Speaking of which, I hope she's okay. Leon pulled a lever and the next part of the path rose up as well.

He jumped down from the platform, rolled over the floor and got up. "No sweat."

I tucked away my cell with a well-meant chuckle. "That must've been one of the funniest things I have ever seen…" I watched over his shoulder and saw how suddenly, the statue broke free. "Oh, that is _fucked up_!" I turned around and started running. Behind me, Leon cursed and broke into a run as well.

I ducked forward to avoid a pillar falling down, it crushed behind me and for a moment I hoped it had hit Leon, but no, he jumped over it. I finally reached the door but it was locked. "You people suck!" I cried and shot the padlock, then I kicked the door open and ran into the nightly air. Was it still night?

I panted and clutched for my thigh. No… stamina… I heard a crash behind me and while casting a look over my shoulder I saw that the Salazar statue had gone straight through the wall and now began to fall. Shit! Shit! Shit! I felt the bridge I had ran onto crumble underneath my feet and took a jump. I coughed when my stomach smashed against the end of the bridge and I quickly heaved myself onto it. I turned around and saw the statue disappearing into the grove. "Well, look who's dangling here," I smiled.

Leon was hanging from the edge of the bridge, his hands clasped tightly around the last remains of rock. "Cut the crap, Alex. Help me up!"

"Aw, come on, Kennedy," I sneered. "You call yourself a man? Put some muscle into it!" I looked at my feet only inches away from his hands. Such an easy kill…

He muttered something before he started to pull himself up.

I swallowed away the drowsiness and smiled. "There's a good boy. Once again you've managed to postpone your death." But his time will come. I watched the tower in front of us. "Holy shit that thing's high…"

"Don't tell me you have a fear of heights." Leon smirked as he headed for the door.

"I don't have a fear of heights," I snapped. "I get slightly uncomfortable being on an elevated location."

He pushed against the heavy door. "Excuse me but I fail to see the difference."

"Better not fail to see my knee going for your groin."

We were alerted by the clapping of a well-known midget waiting inside. "Miss Grace… Mr Kennedy. So glad you could join us." One of his little henchmen was standing at his side and for once I actually took a closer look at his face. Why did it look so familiar? Then I recalled standing face to face with a similar creature back down in the sewers. Salazar laughed quietly at my disgusted face.

"What are you smirking at?" I yelled and pointed an insulting finger at his ugly face. "I got a bone to pick with you mister!"

"Alex, please," Leon grunted displeased and pushed me aside. "Where's Ashley?"

I gasped at him. He pushed me _aside_?

"We are preparing a special ritual that will endow the girl with magnificent power," Salazar smiled.

"That's no ritual, it's terrorism!" Leon said and I slapped my hand in front of my eyes. Just shut up, Leon… please…

Salazar cocked his head to the side. "Isn't that a popular word these days?" he smirked and raised his hand. "Don't worry, we have prepared a special ritual for you…"

Leon flung his knife and pinned Salazar's hand to the wall. All right, that was nice, but I wouldn't say it out loud. I just watched in satisfaction how the creepy midget winced and whined.

His henchman however decided to kill the fun and pull the blade out of Salazar's hand, throwing it back in our direction. Leon gasped when the blade stopped a few inches from his face.

I looked at my hand holding the knife's handle, then at Leon. "Well what do you know, I unintentionally saved your ass." I handed him the knife. "Guess I'll have to kill you twice now."

"If you weren't intending on saving me, why grab it?" he said and tucked the knife away.

"Because it looks unbelievably cool, _duh,_" I said and rolled my eyes.

Salazar grabbed his hand painfully, then both him and his little friend rushed into the elevator, taking off upstairs. "You fuck!" I cried and slammed my hands against the lift cage.

"Up the stairs, hurry," Leon said and started bounding up the stone steps.

I lowered my head. "Are you kidding me?" With a grunt I forced myself to follow him. I could hardly keep up. Stupid sexist nature giving us a uterus and men muscles and stamina… "Kennedy, for crying out loud!" I cried after him, leaning against a wall and catching my breath. "I want to be alive when I get to Salazar!" I ducked between two pillars and took aim at the cultists storming inside and up the stairs.

"Alex, I need your rifle!"

"You still got my TMP?" I bounced up the steps, met Leon halfway and we swapped weapons. "Thanks." I trotted back down a few steps and watched the cultists go up swinging morning stars and shouting. Some of them carried shields, a feeble attempt to escape my total annihilation. "Just die you losers!" I said and drilled their legs making them stumble down, screaming and jolting in pain. "You don't know when to quit."

"Alex, upstairs, now!"

"All right all right, mister bossy," I grumbled, kicked down another hooded freak who fell into the arms of his companions and together they rolled down. Bloody stairs… Leon was waiting by what seemed to be an elevator.

"Let's get to Salazar."

"Hang on…" I panted, leaning against one of crates. "I'm carrying fifty pounds of ammunition here…"

"Maybe if you just dropped the rocket launcher..."

"I have a better idea. Maybe I should just aim it at your arrogant face."

He chose to ignore yet another threat of mine and pressed the green button. The elevator shivered but didn't budge. "We're too heavy," he said.

"Speak for yourself."

I heard a bang downstairs and we both leaned over the railing. Dozens of cultists came running in, spotted us and stormed up the steps in a rush of bloodlust. Two crossbowers camped at the entrance. They took aim and their arrows missed us by inches. "Shit."

"The crates," Leon now said. "Get rid of them!"

We both thrust our backs against a crate and shoved them off the elevator board. It shuddered for a second and then started moving up slowly. I took my Colt and aimed over the edge of the shaft. I hit one of the crossbowers in the head and he staggered backwards. Then I ducked again to avoid an incoming arrow. "Can't this thing move any faster?" I cried and fired a few rounds at the cultists that tried to get onto the elevator with us.

One of the cultists hopped aboard. The elevator creaked and stopped moving. He laughed mockingly. A spinning kick threw him back off. "Wipe that smile off your face!" I was on the honours list of martial arts class, bitch.

"Alex, incoming!"

Three more landed next to me. Leon fired and took out one of them. I blasted another one trying to hop aboard and he was blown away with a shriek. I saw Leon getting rid of the other two when I looked over my shoulder. I hurried over to the switch and smacked it a couple of times. "Come on, move you piece of shit!"

"More are coming," Leon said as he reloaded his gun.

"Well keep them at a distance!" I snapped. The elevator finally showed signs of life and went op slowly. "Yes, bloody yes!" More arrows soared past and I ducked down. Getting slightly pissed off here… Taste my headshotness. Pure chaos erupted when what seemed like an endless stream of cultists dropped down into our elevator. It stopped moving once again. I shrieked when one grabbed me from behind and hissed loudly in my ear. I heard Leon shout my name from somewhere on the other side of the red mass.

Screw you, Leon. You're on your own. I glanced up for any option that would lead to survival. My heart leapt when I found a walking board hanging just a meter or three above me. I smacked the cultist against one of the elevator's poles. He released me with a moan. I stomped a foot in another cultist's pale face, thrust off and flung my arms around the elevated walking board. With a grunt I heaved myself up and crawled back to my feet. Without any hesitation I took my TMP and aimed it at the chains holding up the elevator. "Sorry Leon."

As soon as the four chains had snapped, the elevator soared downwards. Cultists screamed in anger and tried to flee the platform of doom, but soon the side of the elevator hit a wall, it toppled over and the walls were smeared with their black blood. I stared down into the depth of the tower. No sign of life whatsoever was shown; empty shells lay scattered over the steps, remains of the elevator hung from the walls. I felt something bubbling up inside me, a mix between relief and nausea and disbelieve that Leon had actually just fallen to his death. After all those years… was this the way to finally put it to an end.

I sighed sadly. "Wish I could've given you a more descent death than this, Kennedy." There was a croak of the boards behind me and I chuckled pressing my fingertips against my closed eyelids. "Then again, I should know better than to expect I had actually gotten rid of you." I turned around and our eyes locked for a few seconds. "I'm guessing that's one thing we have in common," I said, "we just won't die."

"Not yet, at least," the blonde said and walked away. He had just gotten his proof that when it came to it, I wouldn't hesitate to kill him. "Just tell me one thing though," he said as we reached another slightly smaller elevator and stepped in. "You said you'd spare me as long as Ashley was around. She's not here."

I smiled feebly. "I figure you might come in handy," I told him. He blinked in confusion and I smacked the green button. "But mark my words when I say handy. Not vital."

* * *

**Queen Luana: **I know. It's been a while. After this, it's Salazar. And then we can finally get to the Island part.


	12. Chapter 12

**Queen Luana : **Here I am. Now read, damn it.

* * *

**Luis' Research**

"She must be in here."

Now at the top of the tower, Leon and I looked at the massive wooden door in front of us. The torches on each side of the doors burned brightly and the light threw gloomy shadows across the tower walls. "Then this is where it all ends," I stated. The wind howled loudly up here and sent chills down my spine. We were up too freakin' high. While climbing the stairs I had glanced down once and saw how we had left the castle and village far bellow us.

I cocked my gun with a sigh. "All right then. Let's go get that midget's ass."

"Running out of steam, Alex?"

"No, but after a while the novelty of rescuing a damsel in distress tends to wear off."

The door wasn't locked or barred. Clearly he had been expecting us. Fine, let him. It wouldn't change anything about his impending _doom_.

The thing about this castle was, that no matter in how deep shit you've been seconds ago, you're always headed for more. For what we had just stepped into, made the entire tower look like a spa resort.

"The fuck…" I muttered. Despite Salazar standing only a few yards away from me, my attention was drawn by something hanging from the ceiling. It looked a bit like a giant plant… Only, well you know, the usual more slimy, more disgusting, more zombielike kind. Was there anything normal in this castle? Really, even the carpet had looked undead.

"Ah, you just missed her," Salazar told us with a grin. He had turned away from an altar mounted in the middle of the room. His henchman stood at his side. "The ritual is over; she left with my men to an island."

"What?" Leon snapped.

No freaking way. More damsel in distressing. I had been hoping it would've ended here. Damn it. "You're being a real pain in the ass, midget," I grumbled. Only then I noticed the endless amount of tentacles swarming about the ceiling. Better keep a close eye on them. Wouldn't be the first time I'd had to fear for incoming _impalement_.

Without paying any attention to my words he turned round again and climbed the altar. "I think it's time I pay my due respect towards your impressive and stubborn will." As expected the thin tentacles broke free from the ceiling and now began twirling around Salazar's midget body and around his servant.

Both Leon and I held our guns at the ready, but our awareness only caused Salazar to laugh mockingly as the tentacles lifted them up and drew them back towards the ceiling where they disappeared into the gaping mouth of the flowerlike swelling.

"Stay focussed, Alex," Leon told me.

I narrowed my eyes, aiming the TMP at the massive pulsing bulb. My tongue moistened my lips. Come on, you coward…

Without a warning, the bulb burst open and a long snakelike creature shot forward, smashing de altar in front of us. It shook his slimy muscled body and glared at us, one yellow eye wide open. Two cheekbones clicked as two other tentacles shot out of the walls and smacked the platform we were standing on. This was so not in my contract… In all this commotion I almost hadn't spotted Salazar, the fuck, sitting at the end of the snakelike creature. He hissed while I took aim, before disappearing behind a protective wall of bloody rotting flesh.

"Shit." A huge tentacle swooped across the platform we were standing on and as I dived down it missed me by an inch. As I crawled back up I saw another one coming in, knocking Leon off his feet and heading for me. I timed my jump and successfully avoided yet another collision with one of those slimy looking things. "Nasty looking bastard." I raised my TMP and shot some ammo into the bulging eye. It seemed to withdraw.

Leon limped to my side. "Did you get it?"

"No, too easy…" I mumbled.

With utter revulsion I saw how the head seemed to split in two and a giant mouth of sharp teeth became visible. Leon ducked forward and fell off the platform doing so. "ALEX!" As the giant head shot forward I saw no other option then letting myself fall backwards. For a split second I saw a flash of blood and glistening teeth. Next second I was lying on my back on the moist ground, head aching and tentacle dangling above me. It took me a few seconds to realise I was fine; it had missed. As it withdrew, I jumped back to my feet and took aim at that nasty eye. After a few shots the snake shivered and shook and lay still on the platform, behind its head, the wall protecting Salazar separated.

Right. I took my shotgun and did the thing I was famous for. I dived in headfirst into possible lethal danger. I jumped onto the snake's back who hissed angrily at feeling my feet and I took a sprint across its body, trying to keep my balance and trying to keep a keen eye for Salazar whose eyes widened as I approached. The left tentacle tried to smack me down into the depths, but I ducked fearlessly thus avoiding being smashed into a wall. My foot slipped for a moment and fear clutched my throat as it slid down the side of the snake's gooey back. Clutching the shotgun in one hand, I relentlessly dug the nails of the other deep into the pulsing flesh. There was loud, angry hiss behind my back but I pulled myself forward, onto my feet and landed with success at the end of the snake. Triumphantly I reached the mutated Salazar, pressed a foot against his chest and shoved my shotgun down his throat.

"Impale me, huh?" For a second I enjoyed the fear in his eyes, then I took pleasure in blasting his brains out. The second I did so, a tentacle smacked me down and I fell onto the ground with a loud bang. I was dazed for a while waiting for my sight to readjust. Above me pure chaos erupted while the vile creature roared and disintegrated. Hell yeah. That bastard was finished. I wanted a nice hot bath… and hot cocoa. Jesus, I wanted another cigarette…

I felt something at my leg, tugging at my pants. I groaned when I heard Leon's voice in the far distance. Shit, he was still alive. His call echoed in my head. I felt how the thing at my leg had now torn off a piece of my pants and another one crawled over my knee. Instantly regaining consciousness I sat up and shot two bullets into the spiderlike creatures at my feet. They flew backwards, waved their paws and then stood still. While looking around I saw I was lying on a lower ground and the entire area was covered in strange ooze.

"Alex, you okay?" Leon asked me. He offered his hand to help me up but I got up myself.

"Perfectly fine," I said. "Well, what next?"

"We try to find a way towards that island," Leon said. "There's a ladder over there, I suppose it leads outside."

"Excellent," I said and picked up my shotgun from the ground. I felt my back ache where I'd half fallen on the rocket launcher. "Go get Ashley, contact a chopper. I can live with that idea." I climbed up the ladder, which lead to another door. "Ok. We're done with this place."

* * *

"Fuck you."

"Alex, come on."

"I ain't climbing down that thing and you know it." Taking the path leading outside had brought us to a rope that was as far as we were concerned, the only way to get down to the docks below. All the way down to sealevel. I leaned over a little and saw the ocean twirling before my eyes.

"Here." Leon leaned forward and grabbed the rope. "Just hang on tightly, you'll be fine."

"Yeah, I will be, cause I ain't going down."

"We're losing valuable time, Alex," Leon snapped. "Ashley's in danger. Grab the rope and head on down. We need to stop Saddler."

I looked at the rope stubbornly. I kill zombies, I fight axe-wielding monsters, but I can't climb down a stupid rope. I truly am sad. Reluctantly I reached out my hand and took the rope. "This sucks." I whimpered, clutched the rope tightly against my chest and then leapt. I shrieked while I dangled from the chord and slid a few feet down. Only a few feet lower, with still a long way to go, I was clinging onto to it in fear of my life.

"You're doing great, Alex. Just keep on going down." I detected just the slightest hint of amusement in his voice.

"Screw you, Kennedy," I barked highpitched. "Fuck, fuck, fuck…" I slowly loosened my grip and slid down. It was a long way to go and after a while I saw Leon grabbing the rope as well. Sooner than I had expected, my feet touched the ground and knees quaking, I leaned against the wall. "Fucking hate my job…" I coughed, retched and leaned over. A mixture of blood and plane meal spluttered onto the wet rocks.

"You okay?" Leon asked as he lowered himself next to me.

"Just give me a minute, I'm fine…" I uttered and spat out more blood. I searched my pants for the bottle of pills and tossed one into my mouth. "We're running out of time." I wiped the blood off my mouth with the back of my hand, ignored the searing pain around my abdomen and limped forward. We reached another elevator that took us down to the dock.

"Finally, luck favours our side," I smiled when I found a speedboat moored at the quay. "I take the wheel, you shut up."

"You know how to drive one of those things?" Leon demanded while I tossed the rocket launcher in the backseat and plumped down behind the steering wheel. He cautiously sank down next to me while I fumbled with the red and green wires underneath the wheel. I smirked arrogantly when the engine roared. And got up straight. Leon turned around in his seat and studied the back of the boat. "Seriously, do you?"

"Nope." I pulled a lever to my left and we shot forward, out of the cave and into the open ocean. Leon cursed loudly and grabbed the side of the boat after almost having toppled over the back of his seat.

"You're insane, Alex. You truly are."

"I'm fearless."

Leon clung onto everything near while the speedboat skipped over the waves towards the line at the horizon, that which I assumed was Saddler's hideout. "While we're going, mind you find the breaks?"

"Mind your own business, Kennedy."

The rest of the ride continued in utter silence. Silent, until the rocks drew dangerously close. I stretched one arm backwards and grabbed the rocket launcher. "Here, hold this for me," I said and pushed it into Leon's arms. "Don't lose it." Along the steep cliffwall I had spotted one sloping rock. It couldn't be more than a few feet wide, and it certainly wasn't tilting over an angle over thirty degrees. But hey, it was worth a shot. I'm Alex Grace. I'm immortal.

And if I don't make it, at least Kennedy goes down with me.

"Alex, turn," Leon now said. "Alex. You're crazy."

"Hold on to your knickers, Kennedy," I cried and as we drew close I screamed in excitement, aimed for the steep rock and prayed. I jolted forward when the bottom of the boat hit the bottom of the rock. Then, without hardly losing any speed, the boat tilted upwards and within seconds, we found ourselves soaring through the air, into a narrow passageway between the cliffwalls. For a moment I was airborne, clinging onto the boat at the wheel. One hand let go, pulled the wires loose, then my belly went funny as we descended, if possible even faster than we had ascended, and my head just missed the steering wheel when we collided with the ground. The boat spun round, smacked into a wall and then finally came to a halt.

While at the moment itself it had seemed to last for ages, right now it felt like it had been over in a second.

Leon was still in his seat. His face had grown awfully pale and he was sure to vomit any second now. "Does the word 'subtlety' have any meaning to you at all?" he gasped.

I looked around me to check the damage. "No, guess it doesn't. Can't believe that actually worked. Sweet." I pulled myself up and slid out of the boat. The harsh seawind seemed to push me deeper into the tunnel. Don't worry, Ashley. It's almost over. Everything will soon be settled. I took the rocket launcher and my backpack and prepared for the final chapter in the wildest job assignment of my life. I knew I should've just opened a pub.

"Alex." Leon, who had finally regained some colour, tossed me a black vest. "It's bulletproof, I found it in the back."

To my dissatisfaction I saw how he himself strapped himself in. That means I'll have to aim for the head. "Okay. Go."

"Hey, Alex," he cried while I broke into a run and headed along the cliff at fast pace. "Wait up!"

"They heard the blast," I said, "they know we're here. Move, Kennedy! If you fall behind you get left behind!" I ducked behind a rock and peeked around the corner. More ruins, but it seemed more like a military base than anything else. A giant searchlight moved about and checked every little pebble in the vicinity.

"What do you see?" he asked.

"Doesn't look good," I muttered. "This place is secure." I almost had a heart attack when all of the sudden my cell began to buzz again. "For crying out loud." With just the faintest excitement I flicked it open and pressed it to my ear. Salazar was dead, so maybe Hunnigan had finally been able to make contact. "Grace."

"I welcome you to my humble island, miss Grace."

I'd recognise that voice anywhere. "Saddler," I grumbled. "I promise you, next time I see the slightest bit of your ugly face I'll blast it off."

"You think your threats scare me? I'm looking forward to our next encounter."

"You're dead." I flicked the cell phone close and tucked it away. "Gimme your rifle. The sooner I get to that fuck, the better." I levelled the scope with my eye and aimed for the spotlight. With one shot, the glass shattered into pieces and the base was consumed by an eerie darkness.

"What're you doing?" Leon asked me as I handed him back the rifle.

I chuckled. "Subtlety."

We sneaked along the old walls. The few people I saw were dressed in military outfits and hardly resembled the villagers. For a second, I had mistaken them for living human beings. The stairs leading up to a gate to continue were guarded.

"Snipe?"

"No, distract," I said, released one of the grenades from my belt, clenched the pin between my teeth and tossed it high into the air. Within seconds it exploded and the guards immediately left their posts, screaming the same incomprehensible Spanish as the previous mindless puppets. "Go."

We sneaked up the stairs and into the tunnel. Following the trail and climbing up ladders, we were soon spotted by Saddler's puppets. We forced our way through, until at last, we infiltrated the base.

"I got a bad feeling about this," I muttered. The hallway was hardly illuminated so I switched on my flashlight. "You make a sound, Leon, I shoot you in the head, got it?"

"Affirmative."

I slowly opened a swing door and tiptoed into the room. It seemed to be a kitchen. And the stench was almost unbearable. "Oh, God, that's disgusting," I said and pressed my hand underneath my nose. "What is that?"

Leon crept around me. "There's your problem."

Large lumps of rotting flesh were dangling from a bunch of hooks from the ceiling.

"Hey, I'm suddenly not hungry anymore," I smiled and poked it with my gun. There was a clash to my left and as I turned I saw a burning person storming out of what seemed to be a large oven. In flames and arms outstretched he ran towards me.

Leon quickly pulled his gun and shot two bullets in him. He dropped to the floor where he laid smoking.

I studied the full-length oven. "What the hell was he doing in here?"

"Getting a tan, perhaps."

"You crack me up," I muttered. "This place gives me the creeps. Where the hell is Ashley?" I opened the door on the other side and somehow, it seemed as if my prayers were finally heard. Down the hall I heard a young girl screaming my name. I pulled my gun and hurried towards the source of the sound, found another door and kicked it open, gun at eye level. But the room was empty. The only thing in there was a bunch of monitors, showing the blonde smacking a door angrily.

"Let me out! Alex!" she cried. "Leon!" A man stepped into view and rudely pulled her away from the door, then the screens went black.

"Shit!" I said and smacked the table. "You fucks…"

"She can't be too far off," Leon said.

I took a deep breath then straightened. "This ends. Now." There was another door to our left and we took it. This base almost seemed like a maze of hallways and rooms, one even less lit than another.

"It's locked," Leon said after having tried to open the double doors that seemed to lead to a freezer.

"The one in the back needs a key card as well. That means there's only one left."

Double doors, shut by a wooden bar. A red light shone ghastly above it. Leon unbarred it.

"Wait."

He eyed me and I shook my head. "It doesn't feel right."

"Why is that?"

"They barred the door," I said. "But it's barred from the outside. It's not to keep something out, more like, to keep something in."

"This is the only option we have, Alex. We can't chicken out now."

I sighed deeply then nodded. "Open it."

He pushed the iron bar down and slowly opened the door, his gun raised. "Clear." We shuffled into the room. "It looks safe," he said.

I hardly paid any attention. Instead I shuffled forward and pressed my hand against the window. I gazed into the small room, where something human shaped yet so absolutely inhuman at the same time was lying in the middle of a table.

"Looks like they were doing an autopsy," Leon mumbled.

I shook my head. "An autopsy of what?" I walked round and tried the door, but something very heavy seemed to be blocking it from the inside. I didn't try pushing it open again. Maybe it was best to leave it this way, and leave that thing where it was.

"This one's open," Leon said behind me. With a beep the door slid open and made way to another room, where another strange experiment seemed to have taken place.

"Good heaven," I muttered and pressed my hand against my mouth. I swear I'd vomit again. The walls were covered in darkred blood and on another table, a corpse was mounted. It seemed to be frozen, while one of those spiderlike creature I'd seen at the castle was busy eating him. "What is this place…" I whispered and leaned against a desk placed against the wall. Leon walked round the room, scanning everything with his flashlight.

While I raised a hand to wipe off the sweat on my forehead, I accidentally dropped a bunch of papers. I leaned over to pick them up when my heart skipped a beat. They were stamped and signed by Luis Sera.

_"I am a researcher… Hired by Saddler…"_

Trembling I spread the papers on the desk. They contained pictures. I recognised the creatures displayed on them as the thing lying in the room next to us. "The hideous creatures such as the El Gigante," I began to read aloud so Leon would hear, "and the Novistadors, are merely by-products of the diabolical and inhumane experiments conducted on the specimens that were once human." I swallowed and continued on the next page. "But there is one type of creature that clearly distinguishes itself from all the others. These creatures are called Regenerators. Regenerators have a superior metabolism that allows them to regenerate lost body parts…"

I frowned and continued reading in disbelieve. My eyes began to blur which made it difficult to continue reading Luis' masculine handwriting.

"I've never seen anything like it," I read his hastily scribbled down words, "it's this characteristic that makes them almost invulnerable to conventional weapons." I picked up the other papers. "This is…"

Leon crouched beside the corpse of a slain scientist and wrenched a key card from his hands.

At the other side of the sliding door, there was a loud bang, and the sound of a door hitting the ground. Both Leon and I turned to the closed sliding door. All seemed silent, except for a strange gargling sound…

* * *

**Queen Luana: **Cliffhanger! Yeah, I know those things suck, especially if you look at the time it takes me to update. I'm evil, I know. Maybe some _reviews_ will give me the inspiration I need... *wink wink*


	13. Chapter 13

**Queen Luana : **As you should've guessed from the previous chapter, the Regenerators will step into play. They'll play a major part in Alex' experience, I only don't know how to put it and in which order to put it. Odds are I'll stop following the story, meaning I'll switch certain events. You'll see what I mean. For those who think Alex is starting to grow soft, be on your guard.

* * *

**Alex' torment**

I clutched the papers tightly in one fist and took my Colt with the other. A drop of cold sweat trickled down my temple as my eyes locked on the sliding door. Leon stepped forward and soon the door opened. Leon gasped. The door of the other room had been busted down and a creature about two feet taller than him was standing in the doorway. It hissed and gargled, head raised high into the air. He quivered as he stepped into the room.

"The fuck…" I uttered. I fucking hate my instinct for being right all the time.

Leon raised his gun and shot two holes in the creature's torso. It only seemed to react agitatedly and within seconds, new tissue covered the wounds in his chest and they were no longer seen.

"It's not possible…"

Leon fired three more rounds into the regenerating body then, while the creature was stunned, he took my elbow and pulled me across the room, back through the double doors and slammed them shut behind us. "Was that a regenerator?" he gasped and leaned against a wall.

Looking down I noticed I still had the files clutched in my hand. "It must be," I said. "I hope there's only one of them." But I doubted it. The files referred to the plural form. I pressed the back of my hand against my glowing forehead. I seriously want to go home now. Alienheads and tentacles I could deal with. Hell, apparently I'd even learn how to cope with Leon. But how in the world could I fight a creature that could regenerate any lost body part?

A shiver ran down my spine when I heard the hissing from the other side of the double doors. "You think it knows how to open a door?" Leon asked and raised his gun.

"At least it knows how to break them down," I mumbled and pressed the file against my chest. We slowly shuffled backwards, keeping our eyes on the door. There was a bang, the red light flickered and then went dim.

By the time we heard the sound of the next bang against the door, I had already turned and shrieked loudly, stumbled backwards and fell down on the ground. Another regenerator was standing barely a yard or two away from us. I crawled back while Leon turned on the spot and fired several rounds into the creature's body. It merely shivered while its wounds healed. After a moment of hesitation and an insult to my flawless reflexes, I dropped the files on the floor, pulled out my shotgun and fired, again and again. The regenerator staggered backwards and I took a last shot at his head that exploded into pieces of black tissue. I lowered the gun with a relieved sigh and searched the floor for the papers again.

"Alex, move!" Leon suddenly pressed me. My fingers had only just closed around the edge of the papers when his hand took hold of my upper arm and almost dragged me back to my feet. His point was clear, the regenerator wasn't dead. In a matter of seconds a new head had replaced the old one. I stumbled behind him casting a look over my shoulder to see whether it was following us and cursed when I saw, indeed, that it appeared around the corner and limped towards us.

Leon kicked the fence open and when I intended to go on straight ahead, saw him going left to the closed freezer.

"Kennedy!"

"In here," he said, flashed out a key card and inserted it in the lock. We heard a click and he quickly pulled back the card and pushed the door open. He closed it as soon as I had run inside.

"Out of one hole and into another," I mumbled once I had caught my breath. A group of regenerators was hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. Leon grabbed his gun in reflex but I shushed him. "They're frozen, I think." A small cloud escaped my mouth. "So will we be if we stay in here too long."

"Any suggestions?"

I sank down against a cold wall. "No idea."

"All of God's creations are mortal, so these must have some weakness at well…"

"Christ, Kennedy! Look around you!" I snapped and motioned towards the displays of needles, scalpels and other experimental equipment. "This isn't God's." I tucked away my gun while Leon poked one of the frozen bodies quietly. When I took a closer look I found they had more in common with a lump of meat than with actual human beings. They scared me, nevertheless. To think that they had once been normal human beings… I stared at the files on my lap and flipped through the pages.

_However_…

My heart leapt. Never before had I read such a beautiful word. My eyes scanned the page at a record speed. "Kennedy, division didn't happen to give you an infrared scope, did they?"

He cocked his head sideways. "Not… really."

I jumped to my feet and pressed the papers into his arms then started messing through the junk lying on the desks and in the cupboards in the room. Adrenaline pumped through my veins and I regained warmth and energy. So much crap in this entire building, wouldn't amaze me… "Bingo." I pressed my nose against the glass door behind which laid a black scope, neatly mounted in an open briefcase, as if it were calling me. Somebody likes me. I tried to turn the wheel in order to open it, but the cold air blowing from two shafts on each side of the cupboard had frozen it in place.

I pushed Leon aside, who clearly had just finished reading the papers himself and was now checking drawers and boxes himself. "Find the thermostat, we need to heat this place up." I tossed some boxes aside and scanned the walls until I finally saw a panel with a thermograph. "Hello." I switched it off and heard how the fans cooling the room stopped. "Stop messing around with it," I snapped at Kennedy who was fumbling with a cash register like thing. "We're leaving."

I blew hot air into the palm of my hands and grabbed the wheel firmly. Slowly it began to rotate until it finally broke free and I opened it. A white cold vapour streamed out of the cabinet as I fully opened it and I reached out to grab the scope. It lied cool in the palm of my hand. My salvation.

"Alex!"

I turned round and saw Leon fleeing for the door. I quickly scurried after him and saw why he grabbed the doorhandle so desperately. One of the regenerators had fallen to the ground and flung itself up straight. Perhaps it had responded to the change in temperature.

"The door's jammed," Leon cried and pulled with all his might.

Meanwhile, the regenerator was aware of our presence and slowly shuffled forward. But I didn't fear them anymore. They had a weakness. And I knew which one. They were no longer Alex-proof. "Riffle," I commanded.

Leon hesitated for a split second then tossed his rifle. I grabbed it and swiftly locked the scope on top of it. I levelled it with my eye and took aim. The scope allowed me to locate three pulsing red bulbs on the regenerator's body. God bless you, Luis.

_However, like any other living creature, there is a way to kill it. Apparently there are plagas inside its body, somewhat like leeches. To stop its regenerating progress, these leech-like plagas must be located and then destroyed. But they can't be seen with the naked eye. They can only be located through thermal imaging. As far as I know, most of regenerators host a number of these leech-like plagas. To kill the regenerator, each one of these leech-like plagas must be killed._

The regenerator stumbled backwards and groaned indistinctly when I shot the first plaga. "Bull's eye," I smiled and shot the two other ones as well. As soon as the last plaga had been killed the regenerator's body seemed to swell up and then exploded. Blood splurged out of its two legs before they as well fell to the ground to rot. I smiled. "No sweat."

Behind me, Leon was still trying to open the door. "Stand back," I said and pushed him back. I kicked the door once, grabbed the handle and jerked. It broke free immediately. I eyed Leon with a sigh. "Men."

The regenerator outside went down just as easily and my fear for them had completely dissolved. They weren't so though after all. "Piece of cake," I boasted as the legs dissolved and I handed back Leon's rifle. I strode over to the only door left in this area. "And now for this door…"

"Make way," Leon said when I had already aimed my Colt at the lock. He pulled out the key card again and slipped it into the reader. There was a beep and the door opened. He rolled his eyes. "Women."

* * *

"Ugh, that freakin' reeks," I muttered and pressed my hand against my nose. I leaned over and stared down into a pile of garbage.

"This must be the waste disposal area," Leon said.

"Gee, nice observation, egg-head," I grumbled. "God, let's just move, this place is making me nauseous." Ironic huh? After all the sick and twisted things I had run into the past few hours, garbage was making me nauseous.

We stepped into a hallway where the air was a little less completely disgusting. It led into what seemed to be an office of some sort. Laptops were set on a table in the middle of the room and monitors hung from the walls. I gasped when I saw a package of cigarettes lying on a pile of papers. I snatched it from the table and peeked inside, then cursed when I found it was empty. No salvation stick left.

"Come on, Alex," Leon said. "Were you really gonna smoke anything that you found in this place?"

"Hell, I've reached the point where I'm prepared to smoke my own shoes," I said and threw the package into the trash bin. "Of course I'd smoke them." When we left the room I held my breath when I heard my name.

"Alex! Help!"

Ashley. Thank God. No more Leon! I sprinted through the corridor and ended up at a door. Behind the bars the blonde smiled in relief when she saw me. "I knew you'd come!" she cried.

"You okay?" I asked her. Her hair was ruffled and her arms bruised. Her red eyes made it clear she had been crying.

"I'm fine," she said and shook her head. "How about you? You guys all right?"

"We're fine," Leon said.

I pounded the iron door but it was far too heavy to bust open. "We need a key," I mumbled and looked at him.

"No more cards up my sleeve I'm afraid," he said.

I sighed. "Then I'll just have to go and look for it. Stay here with Ashley, I'll be right back."

"Alex, wait," he held out the rifle. "Got a hunch you'll need it."

"A hunch, huh?" I took it with a chuckle. "All right. Who knows."

"Stay on your guard," Leon told me.

"I don't need your advice, Kennedy," I said grimly. "If there's anyone who should be on his guard, it's you." I pulled out the bottle of pills and passed it to Ashley through the bars. "Take one of these." I winked. "Be right back." I took the door I had seen on my right and left them behind. Poor Ashley, all alone with him. Next thing I'll do once I find the key and get her out of there is shove him down that disgusting garbage pit. I strolled into another room and headed down the stairs. So far so good. No more sudden encounters, no more suicidal brainless puppets. No more blond cocky companions. I'm going to write a real nasty letter to division, that's what I'll do.

I quietly pushed open a metal door and peeked inside. No one there. Smooth. I checked out all the equipment. There had to be a keycard somewhere. It couldn't be off too far. "Nope. Doing it the Hunnigan way really sucks." Speaking of which; I pulled out my cell and flicked it open. Nothing. When I tried to dial her number, all I got was a long continuous beep. I peeked into the next room and found it was another monitor room.

"Hello? Any key cards here? Or any sudden ambushes? Seriously, guys, what the fuck." I rumbled through the junk spread out on the tables looking for a key when I heard a door swoosh open behind me, and the same gargling sound I knew too well. I turned 180 degrees, rifle at eye level but frowned. A regenerator had indeed just stepped in from a door in the distance, but something was off. Instead of the regular lump of flesh look, this one's entire body was covered in needles. I shook it off and took aim. Four plagas this time, and I shot them all in a matter of seconds.

But when I lowered my rifle, fear struck me yet again. Because unlike the others, this one didn't explode. It kept moving towards me and I stumbled backwards, slipped over a pen that was lying on the floor and smacked down on my back. I groaned, rolled over and crawled towards the door. I pushed it open, pulled myself inside and grabbed hold of the edge of there, with my free hand I took a grenade, clenched the pin between my teeth and tossed it inside, before slamming the door shut. The regenerator had only been a few feet away from and I tightly held the door shut when the grenade exploded and the windows on each side of me shattered into pieces.

Once the numb feeling in my ears had passed I heard silence. Complete utter silence. No more gargling. I cursed myself for having wished for some action moments ago. I got to my feet and painfully rubbed my back. Darn rocket launcher. I sauntered back into the room and picked up my rifle that I had dropped during my fall. I raised an eyebrow when I spotted a key card lying only inches away. "Well, that's lucky."

I heaved myself up at a toppled over desk and leaned against the wall. "What kind of fucked op place is this?" I mumbled and eyed the key card. Storage room. "Right, let's go and get Ashley. Poor girl."

* * *

"Did you get it?"

I waved the key card in my left hand and handed him back his rifle. "Piece of cake."

"You seem rattled."

"I said, piece of cake," I snapped at him. I opened the door and instantly, the girl raged out of her cell and tightened her arms around me.

"Alex!"

"Wow, easy there, tiger," I muttered and patted her back. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"You saw an exit?" Leon asked as I pulled Ashley along.

"Something like that."

I lead them both back to where we came from, into the office. One of those plaga-infested jerks gave a shout as soon as we set foot inside and pulled a security switch before I had the chance to shoot him down. Immediately the doors closed and locked us inside.

"Stay low, Ashley!" I said and pulled out my Colt for old time's sake. She ducked underneath the table while Kennedy and I shot the three soldiers in the room. "You guys just don't know when to quit, do ya?" I shot the plaga that had escaped the guy's head and his decapitated body sank down to the floor.

"Is it safe?" Ashley squealed.

"Yeah," I said and pulled her back to her feet.

"Guess for a moment I was better off in my cell."

I clasped her shoulder. "Look Ashley. It'll be just fine. You're with me again. I'll get you out. It can't be too far." I thought it was best not to mention the regenerators. And especially not the thing I had seen moments before. I had no more grenades and no idea what to do if I should encounter another one. "Okay, now, how do we switch this thing back off." I coughed as I checked the control panel and my stomach cramped up again.

"Here." Ashley held out the bottle of pills and I gratefully took one and swung it back.

"Thanks. Ah, here we go."

Leon, who had been examining the shut door took a few paces backwards. "No, wait!"

I pressed the switch with raised eyebrow. Immediately, a group of four soldiers came storming inside. One smacked Leon against the ground, the other three made way for me. "Oh shit."

Ashley ducked behind me, hands pressed against her ears and screaming. I pulled out my shotgun and blasted them backwards where they lied squirming on the ground like a bunch of bugs. Meanwhile, Leon had fought his way free and got to his feet. I finished the others off, swiftly and cleanly. We wouldn't want to make a mess now do we?

"Brilliant," I smiled and reloaded my Colt. "Let's move."

One arm wrapped around Ashley's shoulder, I practically pushed her out of the room, back to the waste disposal area.

"And now we're back here," Leon said. "Now what?"

"Just shut up, and keep moving, Kennedy," I snapped and lead the way through the containers, to the garbage pit.

"Ugh, gross," Ashley muttered and pressed her hands in front of her mouth.

"Yeah, it's a pretty long way down," I said with a grin. "Wait here, Ash."

Leon was bending over the pit shining his flashlight down. "I can hardly see a thing."

I cracked my knuckles, smiled broadly and smacked him hardly in the back.

Leon screamed, waved his arms and lost his balance, falling down into the nasty smelling pit.

"Told you to watch your back, Kennedy!" I shouted after him with glee.

Ashley supported on her knees. "Leon! You okay?"

There was a groan. "The garbage broke my fall…"

Ashley rose up and looked at me. "We aren't gonna leave him down there, are we?" she asked me.

I sighed deeply. "Sadly enough no. This really is the only way out."

Her cheeks caught a faint green. "You're not serious, are you?"

I raised my eyebrows with a broad grin on my face.

"Alex… n-no!"

"Off you go, Ashley," I said grabbing her shoulders and threw her down. I heard a crash down the pit and a moan.

"Aleeex…"

I took a deep filthy breath. "Right, remember your training, Alex, and pray that you land on Kennedy's ugly face." I swung my arms back and leapt. "Geronimoo!"

* * *

**Queen Luana: **Here we are. Sorry for the late update, once again. It's due to way too much schoolwork and an illness, which took me down for four whole days. You have no idea how hard it is to type regenerator. I finally got the hang of it. In the beginning it was 'regenator' or 'regenaroter'. Same goes for Ashley when I started out actually. In the beginning I kept typing Ashely instead of Ashley. In the end it pissed me off so much I just put it in the AutoCorrection.


	14. Chapter 14

**Queen Luana : **I think I've got a clearer picture on how events will be turning out. Oh well, read and enjoy. Oh yeah, I know the regenerators with spikes are called Iron Maiden. But how could Alex possibly know, right? So please no comments telling me what their real names are, I'm just calling them the way Alex would call them. And yes, I do know they have a plaga on their back. Once again, how could she know? And finally, this is where I skip a part that will show up slightly modified later in the game. I'm skipping lots of parts, so you can never guess which one I'm talking about, muahahaaaa! The only thing I will tell you that originally, in the game, there are lights. In my adjusted version, there will be none except for three flash lights. Groovy.

* * *

**There she goes again.**

"Was that really necessary, Alex?"

I had landed only inches away from Leon and cursed myself for not having taken another step to the left. The three of us were now laying spread eagled on a pile of torn open garbage bags, rotting flesh and other rubble. It had hurt, I confess. Every bone in my body buzzed with pain. But all in all, I was fine. And so were they, sadly enough. "I was sort of hoping you'd scream like a little girl," I said and sat up with a moan. "Well, I've had worse landing- AAH."

"What?" Leon said and jumped to his feet.

I painfully raised my right hand and Ashley gasped. The long dirty needle of a syringe had pierced its way straight through the palm and blood trickled down my arm. "That can't be healthy," I muttered and winced when I carefully pulled it out.

Leon ran his flashlight across the room. The upcoming parts were blocked with bars. "Come on, we still have a long way to go."

I tossed the needle aside and got up. "Come on, Ashley. Let's move." As I extended my good hand, my eyes widened.

She saw the look on my face and looked down. She raised her arm with a shriek. "What the-"

I quickly pulled her up. "Move. Now." She had half landed on a motionless spiked regenerator. It lied perfectly still, but you could feel it was aware of our presence. As I pulled Ashley along, I found Leon was observing a lever. I gave him a nudge with my elbow and quickly pulled it down. A gate whooshed open and I pulled Ashley inside. I cast one look over my shoulder and saw what I had feared. The regenerator had sprung up and the needles in his body extended when it noticed us fleeing.

Ashley screamed and staggered backwards. "What is that!?"

"Move!" I snapped and hit the lever again, causing the gate to come down and lock out the regenerator.

"Alex," Ashley still shrieked while pressing her back against the bars on the other side. "What is that thing?!"

"It's okay," I muttered and watched how it walked into the gate, causing the needles to extend once again. "We locked it out."

Now, the other shitty thing about regenerators beside their ability to regenerate any lost body part: those bitches know how to work levers.

"Go, go, go!" I screamed and pushed Ashley onwards. Leon quickly pulled the next lever, causing the next gate to open. When all of us had gotten out and the spiked regenerator struggled to get towards us, I pulled the lever and locked him out. Then I raised my Colt, aimed it at the one red barrel standing there and fired. The barrel exploded and the regenerator was thrown backwards against the cage with a shriek. I tucked my gun away and hurried towards Leon and Ashley, who were waiting by a large metal crate. Running water stopped them from moving on.

"I don't think I've killed it just yet," I said. "So let's hurry up."

"Right, push," Leon said and I put my shoulder against it. "One, two, three!"

We pushed with all our might and slowly the crate tilted over and fell down into the water, creating a bridge for us to run across to the other half of the area. "Okay, fast pace, now everyone," I said and took Ashley's arm. "The sooner we get out the better." We had just gone around the corner when I almost led us into the arms of another spiked regenerator.

"Shit!" I cried and pulled Ashley back. "Back! Back!"

"I'll distract it!" Leon cried. "Keep moving!"

Ashley grabbed my arm tightly and shook her head saying 'no'.

"Sorry, sweetpea," I said. "Ready to run like crazy?"

"Don't you mean run for my life?"

"I think 'crazy' better suits the situation right now."

"Ready?" Leon asked and raised the rifle.

I clutched Ashley's wrist tightly as she tried to pull free.

"Go."

I dived forward, pulling Ashley along. Leon fired and the regenerator shrieked while the pins extended and got dangerously close; Ashley and I only missed them by an inch as we shot pass. Tears of fear were now streaming down her cheeks as we kept running, almost tripping over our own feet until we slammed into another giant iron crate at the end of the corridor, which was blocking the exit.

"No!"

"Push!" I screamed and we heaved our back against it.

"I can't!" she cried.

I trotted backwards and saw the other regenerator had gotten out of the cage and was now slowly making his way towards Leon. Jolly. "Climb," I commanded Ashley. I helped her up onto the crate. I leapt and pulled myself up as well.

"_Leon_!" Ashley shrieked as she had also seen how the second regenerator had snuck up on him. He ducked forward, rolled over the ground and sprinted towards us.

Ashley you twit. Finally when things are brightening up… "Come on, move," I said a little annoyed when Leon pulled himself onto the crate as well. We lowered ourselves on the other side and scurried out the door.

On the other side, we leaned against the wall and gained our breath. "Jolly good fun," I muttered. Ashley sank down on her knees and sobbed softly.

"It's okay, Ashley," Leon comforted her and rubbed her back. "They're gone."

"Yeah but if they can pull down levers I'm pretty sure they can open doors as well," I said and Ashley looked up at me in fear. "So just to make sure, let's keep on moving shall we?"

Ashley clung to my arm more than ever as we made our way through the dimly lit corridors. "I'm tired," she spoke softly, "I wanna go home…"

"This way," I muttered and rubbed Ashley's shoulder. It was cold in here. I really wish I'd brought more clothing. I'd been freezing ever since we had been caught in that freezer. "Okay, what's this?" I turned off my flashlight since the room we had stepped into was sufficiently lit.

"It looks like a storage room," Ashley said.

The room was large and boxes were stacked against the wall. In the middle of a room stood a large vehicle, somewhat like a bulldozer.

"Interesting…" I said and walked over to a pile of wooden boxes. Please, let it be cigarettes, please let it be cigarettes… I crushed the lid with my elbow and peeked inside. It was filled with sawdust and I lowered my hand in it looking for anything solid. I laughed triumphantly when I pulled out a grenade. "Ammunition! It's ammunition! Sweet mother of mercy, somebody loves me!"

I rummaged through the different boxes, gathering whatever items I thought necessary for the continuance of the mission. A grenade or two, additional ammo,… I stomped the lid of a rectangular box and pulled away the pieces of wood. "Audible gasp, anyone?" I pulled out a sparkling new shotgun. It weighed amazingly lighter than the previous one, despite it entirely being made of metal. "Sweet." I took my old shotgun. "The time I spent with you was nice, babe, but I need to move on." I dropped it into the empty wooden box and cherished the touch of cold metal in my hand.

"Alex."

I spun round and saw Leon climbing into the rear of the bulldozer.

"Let's move."

I loaded my new best friend and followed Ashley to the front. "You know how to drive this?" I asked her as she settled down behind the wheel.

"I think so," she said and scratched her chin. "Yeah. Doesn't look too difficult."

"Okay." I pulled myself onto the edge of the rear load and sat down. "You watch the back, I'll cover the front." I nodded encouragingly towards the wheel. "Get us out of here, Ash."

She smiled and pulled the gear stick to her right. "Hold on."

With a jolt the large bulldozer began to move and we slowly drove into a long swirling tunnel. It drove rather slowly and it was easy to follow on foot. But I enjoyed being able to sit down for once. My feet were killing me. "Well, this is nice," I smiled and stretched my legs. "You just keep on driving, Ashley-", I yawned, "-all the way back to America."

"Alex!"

I cast a look over my shoulder and saw a bunch of those military men rush behind the bulldozer, and gaining on us with all ease. "They're all yours, Kennedy," I cried. "Told you I'd take the ones in the front." I quickly turned back around and blew some guy's brain out after I'd heard hem scream right next to my ear. "Christ, Kennedy!" I barked. "Can't you keep them at a distance, for Pete's sake!" I had only just settled down when I heard loud honking behind me.

"_Alex_!"

I jumped into the rear load and pulled out my TMP. I figured I'd been neglecting him for some time now. Well, it's time for business my friend. A giant truck came soaring around the bend and honked loudly as it headed for us at high speed. I drilled my ammo into the front window and within seconds, the hood of the truck burst into flames and the car swirled to the side and came to a halt, but not before taking a few airheads with him.

"Bull's eye," I smiled.

"Don't get cocky, Alex," Leon told me as I stared dreamily at the burning flames. "We're so close now. Don't ruin it."

"Same goes for you, Kennedy," I said. "You're this-", I held my fingers an inch or two apart, "-close to making it out of this alive. We've got Ashley. It'll get tricky for me now." I gritted my teeth. "I should've killed you when I had the chance."

"Why didn't you?" he said with that smug smile of his.

I narrowed my eyes. "Convenience." I stared stubbornly ahead of me and gasped slightly when I saw the truck began to move again and the burning vehicle now came storming towards us. "Shoot it!"

A TMP and a handgun drilled ammo into the entire truck's front. It began to zigzag against the side of the tunnels before it finally hit a low hanging pipe and exploded. I ducked to the ground and covered my head in my arms while rubble fell down into the rear load. I crawled up and saw there was no one following us anymore.

"Alex! Come here a sec!"

I pulled myself back up to where Ashley was sitting.

"Look."

A platform lowered itself in the distance and the bulldozer ran onto it. Ashley pulled the break and the vehicle stopped. I looked around, shotgun at the ready. "This feels unpleasantly _un_right."

"There's a lever up there," Leon shouted and jumped down. "I'll go switch it back on."

I looked up and saw indeed high up there, a switch with a red light next to it. "This seems a hell of a lot like an ambush," I said. "Ashley, tuck your head between your legs, will you?"

"O-Okay."

I lowered myself back into the rear. "Bring it bitches." I heard shouting and screams above me. Leon was having a hard time. Cool. But two suicidal airheads were climbing onto our ride. "May I see your tickets please?" I said and blasted them back out. "No ticket, no ride."

With a jolt the platform began moving upwards. I looked up and saw Leon running away from a bunch of soldiers. He slid down the ladder back onto the platform and climbed back aboard. "Wouldn't leave without me now, would you?"

"What a silly thing to say," I said drily.

The lift stopped in the fresh nightly air. A gate opened and Ashley pushed the gear stick forward. Slowly we drove forward into a small passageway between buildings and towers. The air was moist and sourish, but it smelled like Chanel n° 5 compared to the garbage pit we'd jumped into earlier. Keeping in mind that I don't like Chanel n° 5. I crawled back up the edge of the container and loaded my Colt. "Smile, fuckers," I said and shot down the guys that were standing on overhanging pipes, waiting to jump in. "Piece – of – cake. Man, I feel like chocolate cake right now."

"So do I," Ashley moaned.

"We'll have some. Within a span of 12 hours, I promise you, we'll be having some."

"Great." We were alerted by loud honking. "Oh my God. It's coming straight towards us!"

A large truck, similar to the one we had seen before, tilted over the hilltop we had begun to climb.

"Alex?"

"Shit…" I mumbled. I patted her shoulder. "Turn."

"Turn where?" she shrieked, as the honking grew louder. Ironically, it almost seemed as if it was telling us to get out of the way.

"Just turn!" I cried and pulled the wheel to the left. She shrieked when we smacked straight into a cement building and I wrapped my arms around her to protect her from incoming rubble. Because of the jolting and shaking I was thrown out of the vehicle and landed hard on my back, once again, on the rocket launcher. "Aw, bleeding… Craps… That hurt…"

"Alex? You okay?"

I sat up and painfully rubbed my back. "Keep this up and I will have to fire you." I chuckled pitifully. Fire, what a scream.

Ashley crouched next to me. "That was quite a fall."

"It was," I muttered and got up. "You happen to know a good chiropractor?" The bulldozer had gone straight through the wall and stopped halfway. The wall itself had collapsed, blocking the entrance. We were stuck all right. "Hah, here's one for the record," I smiled and flicked open my cell to take a picture. "Back at work, they're always complaining on how I somehow always manage to get everything broken." I sniggered. "Especially the company's cars."

Ashley looked around. "Leon!"

I spotted Kennedy lying on the floor amongst the rocks, bleeding from his head and eyes closed. I crouched next to him, while Ashley shook his arm desperately. I pressed two fingers in his neck. "He's fine. Unconscious, but alive."

"Now what?"

"We keep going," I said and took her arm.

"What? Why?" she asked and looked back at Leon.

"We can't wait up for him and we can't carry him either. He's a burden right now. If he's not the weakling I always claim he is, he'll catch up. Either way, this will be one of the most merciful things you'll see me do."

She kept struggling as I pulled her into the next room, a dining room of some sort, where I pressed her down onto one of the chairs. "Listen to me, Ashley."

She looked at me as if I were a stranger. "You get along… With difficulty, but you get along…"

"Ashley." I leaned over and looked into her eyes. "Put yourself in my position, for once. See him as the man who killed your father."

She gasped briefly.

"See him as the man who shot your father in front of his eyes. See him as the man who was awarded a medal for doing so. See him as the man who showed up at his funeral afterwards and shook your hand telling you that he's sorry. Try to picture it for one second."

A tear ran down her cheek.

"And then imagine everyone you know, everyone you work with telling you he did his job. It's like the entire world is plotting against you. Can you imagine what it's like?"

She closed her eyes and gave a slight nod.

I clasped her shoulder tightly. "We need to go. Time's ticking. That chocolate cake's waiting." I smiled and forced myself to say the words: "Leon will be just fine." Man, I was never good at pep talk. I helped her up and led her along by her hand. She followed quietly. I pushed open the door. "Come on, sweetie. It'll be all right."

"I can feel them… growing ever so strongly inside you." Saddler chuckled when he saw my face whiten in pure hatred. He watched us from the other side of the room carrying a really disturbing staff.

"You…" I hissed. "I'll kill you!" But my feet had only begun their feeble attempt to rush towards the bastard who'd gotten us into this mess, when Saddler raised his hand and for a moment, all the pain I had felt up until then went numb when a searing agony slit through my abdomen. I cried out in pain as I collapsed onto the ground, feeling how the plaga seemed to nestle inside my flesh. The taste of blood filled my mouth and I retched and cramped up at the same time while in the far far distance, I could hear Saddler laugh.

"Perhaps you can resist, but you cannot disobey."

I felt the pain slowly diminishing but I was still shaking heavily on the ground when the parasite seemed to calm down. I gasped for air, felt how the blood filled my lungs and coughed it back out. "S-Saddler…"

"Now, come to me, Ashley."

"N-No…" I groaned but could only watch how Ashley stumbled forward, head hanging low. "Ash…" I coughed and clenched my fists. No. Fuck. No. Not again. "A-Ashley!" I begged with all my heart that she'd fight it. But the parasite had been in her body for longer than mine was. I rolled over on my back and moaned. "I'll get you… I'll get you, Sadd-ler…"

But after another laugh I heard the door close on me. I screamed in frustration and banged my fists on the ground.

"Alex!"

Great. More bad news. I rolled onto my side with a groan and pushed myself up with on arm.

Kennedy crouched beside me. He'd wiped of the blood and looked fine, for the moment. "What happened?"

"Go get Ashley."

He looked at me in confusion.

"GO!" I barked in his face and he stumbled backwards. He quickly ran up the stairs and out of sight and I curled up into a little ball.

Kennedy. Saddler. I can't wait to find out who's next. Damn it. This was going so swell for a moment. I had Ashley, I'd lost Kennedy and I was making my way for the exit. Saddler had inexplicably pissed me off even more. I took a deep breath once the pain had eased and got up.

World. Watch your back. Alex Grace is armed and she's bloody pissed off.

* * *

**Queen Luana: **Wow, this went fast. One afternoon and it was done. Perhaps because I'm looking forward to doing the next chapter. It will contain Krauser _and_U3. That's right I'm doing both of them. Only I'm switching them, like I said I would at some point. The Krauser battle will take place before the U3 battle. And the U3 battle will be wild and Leon will get what's coming to him. And don't ponder too much about the needle in the beginning. It's a detail; it didn't _coincidentally_ contain the T-virus or anything. That's just how it goes: you jump down a garbage pit, you land on something either sharp or moving.


	15. Chapter 15

**Queen Luana : **Whoopie. This will be my favourite chapter. Honestly, if they would turn this fanfic into a movie, the upcoming chapters would be the coolest part. Let me just take my time to copyright this.

© Alex Grace

© Never send a man to do a woman's job

I guess it takes more to copyright something but oh well. You get the basic idea. You steal my stuff; Alex Grace will hunt you down!

* * *

**Miscalculation**

A weird alienfaced freak came storming towards me, arms reaching for my throat. Oh dear, whatever should I do. He hardly screamed when I shot a hole between his bulging eyes. Look at that. My mistake.

"Amuse me." I turned around with a sigh. Incredible. I'd gone on for at least five minutes and I hadn't caught up with Kennedy yet. Maybe I'd scared him. Muahaha. Fear me, lowlifes. And now I found myself roaming about in a factory like environment. Pipes everywhere and the grids rattled when I ran across them, so it was hard to sneak around any of the remaining enemies in the area. "Oh good, an elevator." If I see another staircase I'll shoot somebody. Seriously.

When I stepped inside I heard voices above me. Kennedy? About time. But there was someone else with him. Their voices were muffled so I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but neither did I recognise the other voice. I sadly looked down at the control panel for operating the elevator. Going up like this wasn't very subtle.

I sighed and walked back out, then hooked my fingers in the fence. That explains the endless training sessions including climbing over fences. Over and over and over again. "Here goes…" Climbing the fence was difficult, exhausting and a waste of time. But God knew who was up there. I wouldn't get myself shot in an elevator. There's a long list of ways how I do not want to die, and being shot in an elevator was one of them. In general, I just didn't want to die. Being shot while climbing a fence wasn't really romantic either. I liked to believe I was immortal.

Thus bringing us back to my life motto: why do it the easy way, when you can do it the hard way as well?

I flung my arms over the metal bar and panted. Okay. Next time, I'll be taking the elevator, thank you. Surprise entrance or not. I pulled myself onto the metal grids silently. Then I spotted the two of them. They were circling around each other like a couple of wolves, knives raised in combat stance. I couldn't quite recognise the other one. He was tall and muscular and his face was covered in cuts and scars. However, dressed in a military uniform, he seemed somewhat familiar. He had a dangerous air around him and unlike that incompetent Salazar, he didn't seem like the guy you wanted to mess around with. He looked more like the type who'd slit your throat the moment you turned your back on him.

I took my handgun. Better be on my guard. He was too professional. While he and Leon both seemed very caught up in their little knife game, you could see he was only pulling Leon's string and observing his skills. Finally, a match.

The stranger pushed Leon back and then finally picked up my presence. All right, my cover's ruined. I aimed my gun between his eyes. "Silly me," I smiled. "Bringing a gun to a knife fight."

"Humph." He raised his chin and looked at me as if I were an insect, an insignificant bug. But I detected the slightest bit of interest in his look. "If it isn't the notorious Alex Grace."

I smiled pleasantly surprised while I circled around him, careful not to lose my aim. "How'd you guess?" I can play your games. Just don't lose your cool, Alex.

A grin broadened on his face and he examined the knife in his hands. "They warned me about your striking sarcasm. You had quite the reputation."

I stopped and frowned. Who warned him? "Really."

"Reckless, stubborn, a danger to anyone who tried to work alongside you…" He eyed my gun. "And a master of reflexes."

I cocked my head sideways and smiled playfully. "Bullet speed."

He smirked and twirled the knife around his fingers. "John's girl, right?"

My fingers tightened around the Colt and my free hand clenched into a fist. How did he… I snorted. He was good. He tried to bring me down. "What of it?" I said calmly.

"I knew him well." He lowered his gun and gazed into my eyes. The cold of his onyx eyes slit right through me. Something was seriously off with this guy. "I think we share a common cause." He leapt at least forty feet into the air and landed on a higher ledge. I only lowered my gun as soon as he'd given me a final nod and disappeared out of sight.

Leon stepped up close. He had a cut on his left cheek. That bastard had gotten him. Bless him. "Common cause?"

"No idea." Au contraire. I knew perfectly well what our veteran had been talking about. Inescapably clear. And Leon was an idiot for not fearing for his life. "You two seemed friendly."

"I used to work with him," Leon mumbled. "They told me he died in a crash a couple of years ago." He eyed me. "You know him as well."

"Don't be an idiot. I've never seen that man before."

"Jack Krauser."

I felt an electric spark going through my body as a connection was suddenly made inside my head. An inevitable flashback sent shivers down my spine.

"_Nice sideburns," I chuckled and swiped the frame off his night table. "Who were you trying to look like, Elvis?"_

_John stretched underneath the clear white sheets. "You're the one to speak, Miss Croft."_

_I punched his chest and with a groan he sat up straight. "I look nothing like her and you know it." I scanned the photo and ran an index finger across his handsome face. He was crouching in front of a tent, together with a handful of other muscled men. They were wearing the same military uniform and their faces were smeared with green paint. Right next to him crouched another man who had flung one arm around John's broad shoulders. He looked almost evil with his boyish smirk in contrast to John's hearty smile. "Who's that?"_

_John peeked at the frame. "Jack Krauser. We got along pretty well throughout our years of military service. He was like a brother to me." He chuckled softly. "Though he had a few screws loose. He's a special agent too you know."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah. He's off doing all sorts of missions most of the time. I'll introduce you sometime."_

"Now you mention it. It does ring a bell." I sighed deeply and tucked away my gun. I thought he'd looked familiar. "John had a picture on his nightstand taken during his years of military service. Krauser was on it."

"He was pretty famous amongst special agents." He watched me squeeze my gun tightly. "Still have that picture?"

"I tore it into a thousand pieces six years ago." I took a deep breath and calmed down. I managed to tuck away the gun.

"If you're experiencing mixed feelings, perhaps this will help. He's the one who kidnapped Ashley. He mentioned Umbrella as well."

"Right. So he's officially declared a national threat, correct?" I said. "Very well. Let's go and make his day."

For the past years I had thought about nothing but that faithful night. I had nursed an immense hatred towards Leon and I had missed John. But for some reason, I had only missed _John_. Not missed being around him. For some inexplicable reason I had never even thought about missing being with him.

Until now. Now I had remembered the great emotions I had experienced when being near him, when waking up next to him, when looking at him and smiling and knowing he was mine and mine alone. And I'd crush anyone who dared coming between us. Realising this, being smacked in the face with this, my hatred and anger began to boil inside me and fists clenched I stomped onwards, trying not to give in.

"_John's girl, right?"_

He knew. He bloody knew and he was manipulating me. I wasn't gonna make it that easy for him. Then again, he did know John. He'd known him before I had.

"Alex. You all right?"

"I'm perfectly fine." Following the doors, paths and elevators, we wound up outside again. The air was still dark. Sunrise was still far away.

"Down here." Leon lowered himself down from the ledge we were standing on and dropped to the area below. I followed him without saying a word. We had dropped down into an area of ruins. Torches were lit to light our way and there wasn't a soul in sight. And all of it didn't seem right.

"It's a trap," I muttered.

"What's that?"

"You keep going," I said, "I'll take another route." I found holes in one of the shabby walls and climbed up. That Krauser knew we were coming. Never take the obvious route when people know you're coming. I lowered myself down on the elevation and kept low while running along the side. Krauser was around here somewhere. I pressed my back against an old column and listened closely.

"Where's Ashley?" I could hear Leon shout.

He got a mocking laugh as a reply. "Do you really want to know?"

As I sat there, a curious rat snuck up to me and started nibbling at my trousers. Pitiful little creature, what are you doing here? So tired of your life, so purposeless. You remind me of someone. It's been too long, my little rodent friend. We'll set right all the injustice people have caused us.

"Grace. Glad you could join us. I was wondering where you'd run off to."

"I was just sorting things out," I mumbled, stepping into the clear and gun raised. Krauser and Kennedy had been in mid conversation, Leon standing below us. "And I'm about to sort them out permanently." My finger tightened around the trigger. "You called all of this mess down upon me." I shuffled closer, until my gun was only inches away from his forehead. He wasn't scared. Then again, I never expected he would be.

"Always dutiful, as I thought you'd be," he said with a smile. "After all, I am an enemy of the state." He looked at me, the smile now gone. "But think for a moment, Grace. Who's the real enemy here?"

My eyes narrowed. I saw a bit of John in his eyes. If just a glimmer. When looking at Krauser I saw the picture before me and I saw John. My hand started to tremble. I could feel the blood pulsing in my ears.

Krauser's lip curled upwards and he lowered his head a little, as to give an approving nod.

It was that single nod that sent a rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins and reaching my finger tips in a nanosecond. I clenched my teeth together and turned sideways. I pulled the trigger and a bullet pierced the cold air outside, shot downwards and hit Leon in the shoulder. He gave a shout in pain and quickly ran off, hiding behind a column.

Darn it. Miscalculation. I'd forgotten about that cursed bulletproof vest. I'd even told myself to remember to aim for the head!

"Wise choice." Krauser turned to go hunt down Leon.

"Hey Krauser."

He stopped and peeked over his shoulder at me.

I crossed my arms. "You wouldn't happen to have a cigarette do you?"

He laughed loudly and reached inside his pocket. "This is your lucky day." He tossed me a packet then ran off into the ruins where Leon was hiding.

I caught the packet of cigarettes in one hand and peeked inside. Two left. Bittersweet irony. Analyse that, Freud. I took one of them between my lips then flicked out my lighter. A scream echoed from between the ruins.

"My lucky day, huh?" Sorry, Kennedy. You're on your own.

I leaned against a column and took a long drag. The nicotine seeped into my lungs and told my nerves to chill. Had you ever imagined things would turn out like this, John? Had you ever imagined I'd become the cruel monster I was at this point. Getting into a self-destructing pattern, smoking cigarettes to shorten my lifespan and meanwhile dragging along as much people as I could. Who would've guessed? I'm sure even you couldn't have, and you could see right through me.

My rodent friend had crept up closer and started tugging at one of my shoelaces. The gunfire hadn't scared him the least and even know, as the noise of a TMP was heard in the distance it hardly even raised his little snout. We were much alike.

I looked at the butt of the cigarette and tossed it away with a sigh. "Right. Let's go and see how Kennedy's holding up."

He was cornered. Seeing him lying there on the ground, blood running across his face and one arm motionless at his side, I couldn't help but smile. My blood mixed with a strange kind of adrenaline and pulsed at high speed through my body, making my fingers tingle and my knees tremble, while my entire being was overflown with an immense ecstasy. As I saw Leon moaning in pain, I could remember John's smile. And despite this cocktail of emotions, for some reason, it didn't give me the satisfaction I thought it would.

Krauser was leaning over him, knife still in one hand, but his other had mutated in some sort of pointy tentacle. More tentacles. Hurrah. But Leon had obviously chosen not to go down without a fight. There was a deep cut in Krauser's forehead and darkred blood dripped from his nose.

"You got a little something there," I told him and scratched my forehead.

Krauser grumbled but seemed amused nonetheless. "Mailer always spoke so highly of you. Alex Grace. Pugnacious but unpredictable." He chuckled and placed a sturdy boot on Leon's chest to prevent him from squirming around much more. He screamed in pain and desperately clutched for his leg. "You and I would make good partners, Grace."

I tore free from the expression of agony and pain on Leon's face and looked at Krauser. Partners?

Krauser pointed his mutated arm in Leon's face. "Say hello to John for me."

"Hang on a sec."

Krauser frowned at me.

I smiled. "Partners?" I shook my head sadly and put my hands on my hips. "You don't know me at all. Firstly: I work alone."

He jerked his foot off Leon's chest who gasped for air.

"And secondly…" The smile turned into a grin. "If there's anyone who gets to kill Kennedy, it'll be me."

Our eyes locked. I could see how his narrowed; he smelled my betrayal. Then again, he never should have trusted me in the first place.

He rushed forward with a roar and flung his mutated arm at me. It extended at high speed and I saw the sharp point coming straight at me. Miscalculation, Krauser. With the speed of a bullet I turned sideways, slid closer in an eyeblink and pressed my gun underneath his chin. Noses almost squashed together I gazed into his eyes and saw nothing that reminded me of John. It had been a nostalgic flashback that had driven me to carelessness and had allowed him to manipulate me to his will.

A smirk spread on my face. "Guess they didn't warn you enough." I pulled the trigger and in a splash of blood and gore he stumbled backwards and smacked into the ground. I fired three more bullets in him, just to make sure, until I saw his mutated arm shrink. He might've been John's friend years ago, to me he remained a total stranger. A stranger I couldn't get along with.

I pulled out a hanky and wiped the blood off my Colt. I hated Leon, I loathed Leon. But Krauser was the reason I'd been obligated to put up with him for so long. And that made killing him a priority. I'd get a medal for killing him. Leon not so much.

I turned around and frowned. While I had been occupied with Krauser, Leon had apparently gotten to his feet and was now aiming his gun at me. I rolled my eyes. "Put that away, Kennedy," I said and tucked away my gun.

"Drop your gun, Alex."

"Don't be an idiot."

"I said drop it."

Despite being heavily wounded, he was standing firmly on both his legs and his gun, so I saw, was pointing straight at my head. Was that dickhead actually being serious? "You don't have the guts," I told him and crossed my arms.

"I value my own life higher than yours, I'm afraid," he said. "Drop your weapons, Alex."

He _was_ being serious. "Kennedy. I'll tell you again. Take this as friendly advice. Don't be an idiot."

I saw his finger tighten around the trigger. "I'm not going to ask you again, Alex."

Fool. I shot daggers at him when I pulled out my gun, clenched it between my index finger and thumb, raised my eyebrow as to ask if he approved, then tossed it over.

"The others as well, Alex."

I gritted my teeth together and gave him the TMP, shotgun and grenades. He even dared touching my rocket launcher.

As I turned and faced a column I heard how he removed the remaining ammo from my weapons and my blood began to boil.

"You're only making this worse, Kennedy," I told him grimly when he took my hands and pushed them together behind my back. He tore the ribbon from my hair and used it to bind my wrists. My dreads fell across my face and my face distorted into one filled with hatred and anger.

"You shot me, Alex," he told me calmly, "it doesn't get much worse than that."

And a miscalculation for you as well, Kennedy. I get worse. I get far far worse. You are not in the position to consider yourself to be my superior.

He took my shoulder and turned me around. "I'm sorry, Alex. You leave me no choice. I have to say; I really thought you wouldn't do it. For a moment I could swear something was holding you back."

I spat in his face.

He sighed and wiped it off with the back of his hand. "Guess I was wrong." He pressed his hand against my back to lead me forward. "I'll untie you as soon as we find, Ashley."

Poor, foolish Kennedy. You won't live to see Ashley again.

* * *

**Queen Luana: **This chapter was a little shorter, but I want an entire chapter for the part with U3. Alex is pissed off right now. Don't mess with her. Reviews! I like reviews. Especially now the fanfic is nearing its end. How you think things will turn out?


	16. Chapter 16

**Queen Luana :** Wow, guys, sorry it took so long. Due to my computer crashing twice, causing me to redo the chapter (which is perhaps the hardest thing to do) plus being without any internet for three weeks it took me almost two months to update. My appologies.  
It'd be nice if I could end it at chapter twenty but I don't think I'll get that far. Probably chapter eighteen or nineteen. You know, this story is actually playing like a movie inside my head. Seriously, I've even thought of the ending credits music. Now _that's_ creepy.

* * *

**Huntdown**

We left the ruins through a tunnel leading us deep down into the ground, away from the surface and the fresh air. Deep down here the walls reeked of dust, mud and death. The feeble light of small lamps suspended from the walls lit our path downward and cast eerie shadows around us as we strode by. Leon kept a keen eye out for me. He knew that just by tying me up, he hadn't made me harmless. But neither did he realise he'd only made me even more lethal.

The tunnel finally ended in a large cave. The air was damp and drops of water fell down from the elevated ceiling. There was a deep gorge to our right, you couldn't even tell how far down it led, as darkness consumed it after fifty feet down. I ran my eyes across my surroundings, trying to percept every detail and memorising every pebble I would later on be able to use to my advantage. The most peculiar of this area was without a doubt the large metal construction suspended from chains attached to the ceiling, dangling above the depths of the dark gorge. It appeared to be some sort of a cage, divided in a maze created by a number of heavy containers. Interesting and foreboding at the same time.

Kennedy had clearly noticed it as well. "What is that…" He jumped when my cell began to ring.

I looked down at my pants' pocket then at him. Saddler, without a doubt. By now he must've figured out how far we had gotten and was eager to introduce us to his newest threat.

With a sigh he came closer and slid his hand down my pocket. If looks could kill… He pulled out my cell and flicked it open after taking a few steps back. "This is Leon speaking."

As he was talking on the phone, obviously to Saddler, I looked around for any available options. There was an elevator in the distance, probably going up and back out of this hellhole. The obvious route to take. But the airborne labyrinth fascinated me. It wasn't just hanging there because it looked nice, unless using eerie objects of doom as indoor decoration is your cup of tea. I squinted and leaned over to take a closer look. It _really _looked like a cage. The only question was, a cage to what? I checked every corner and every turn but saw nothing moving.

"Saddler, just let Ashley go home."

Leon let his guard down and I sauntered over to the cave wall and scoured my wrists while trying to pull free from the ribbon that tied my hands. If I had known this would be its purpose at one point in my life, man, I would have used a hairclip. Something was running down from the wall's surface. Something yellow and gooey and it reeked incredibly. Paying close attention, I could feel the ground buzz underneath my feet. I stared at the wall. It was not in the cage.

"You don't scare me, Saddler."

Hightail it out of here. I spun around and sprinted towards the gorge.

"Alex!" Leon cried and quickly tucked away my cell.

I took a leap and went soaring through the air. Now you'll have it, heading towards the cage with no free hands to stop me from falling flat on my face. I curled into a little ball and when hitting the metal grids I exclaimed a loud groan when smacking hardly on my left shoulder. I kept rolling until my legs were dangling above the dark depths of the ravine; only then I came to a halt. Made it. I smiled triumphantly. Taking a jump when you can't use your hands is not the easiest thing to do. But I'd rather risked falling down than staying there with Kennedy. To him I might still be lethal, but I could hardly defend myself against something that wasn't human, although perhaps once it had been, and something that had now seen a prey in Leon Scott Kennedy.

You're done, Kennedy.

Leon watched me from the higher ledge in confusion as I rose to my feet. An almost devilish smirk spread on my face. A low rumbling now seemed to startle him as well and he looked over his shoulder. Meanwhile, one of my hands forced its way into my back pocket. Bless me for remembering to put my lighter in my back pocket. I carefully pulled out the Zippo, felt the inscription on the side and smiled. Look, mum, smoking is now saving my life. I twisted the lighter round in the palm of my hand until I found it was in the right position.

I clenched my teeth when I flicked it open and a flame burned my wrists. But I had to bear it if I wanted to survive. I had the advantage at this point, but that didn't mean I was out of danger. I was in the clear as long as Kennedy would survive. But no one could tell how much time he had left.

Just as I pulled myself loose, I heard a loud roar coming from above. With a scream, Leon was thrown into the air. He fell down, smacked into one of the containers and then dropped to the floor where he lied moaning for a while.

I kissed my Zippo then tucked it away. There were some nasty burns on my wrists but it was worth it. I crouched on the metal grids and smirked at Kennedy who was sprawled on the grids far below me, lost in the maze of containers. He painfully rubbed the back of his head.

"Looks like I have the upper hand now, Kennedy," I told him and he looked up. For a moment he opened his mouth, probably a reflex to ask for help, then he realised it was futile. "That was a nasty fall."

"Alex…" he grunted and got up. "Don't do this…"

"Oh I'm not doing anything," I smiled, "I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy the show." I straightened and watched the end of the cage. Something else had landed below me besides Leon, and it was now steadily making its way along the containers, looking for its prey.

Leon shrieked and fired his gun when the mutated monster appeared around the corner and hissed angrily at him. His head made it clear that once, long ago, it had indeed been human, but all other parts of his body showed no signs of it. Not by far. It was a disgusting little centipede like fellow and for the moment, while I was standing safely about twenty feet above them, he was my best friend.

Nevertheless, I decided to keep low. While Kennedy ran around and the creature hunted him down I observed the cage a little closer. It was divided into three segments, each segment cut off by a large red gate. Each segment also contained two switches, each one also cut off by a gate. I assumed those were the keys to opening the red ones. Those were Kennedy's only chance for survival.

From up here, where I was, it was blaringly obvious. From down there, it was deadly unfindable.

"If only you had a woman with instinct at your side, huh, Kennedy."

"Shut up!"

Oh, look at that. Mr. Cocky is losing his nerve. "You'll need to be more polite if you want my help," I said and watched the vile creature jump down from one of the containers and drop in front of Kennedy, cornering him. He pulled out his gun, aimed it at its head but it rapidly outstretched a tentacle that smacked against Leon's hand and his bullet missed, instead hitting the green light next to the gate, which, to my great dissatisfaction, went up. "Tough luck."

Leon beamed when he saw the switch. He fired a few more rounds at the creature until it jumped back up onto one of the containers, then reached out and smacked the red button.

Nuts. I closely followed him as he made his way for the other gate and shot the light with precision aiming. He was good, but he wouldn't shoot me. He was too soft. My hands closed around the chains holding up the cage. He hadn't lingered when he shot John.

I stomped the grids angrily and screamed. The creature detected this and quickly crept along the containers, right to where Leon was sitting, twenty feet below me. He gasped when he heard my outrage, figured what my intention was and quickly smacked the red switch. Accompanied by a loud alert, the red gate went up, leading Kennedy into the next section of the cage. I checked the chains, figured this was a very unsafe place to be at this point and followed him.

The alert had startled the creature for a second, but now noticing how Kennedy had managed to escape he followed him through the red gate with a roar. Only seconds later, the chains holding up the first part of the cage broke free and the segment fell down into the ghastly depths.

"How special," I muttered and watched Leon sneaking into a narrow passage where the creature couldn't follow him. "Hey, Kennedy, how yah holding up?"

He reloaded his gun without giving as much as a glimpse. "For a moment there, Alex, I really thought you had compassion," he sighed. "I could swear. You were merciful enough to choose not to kill me when Ashley could see."

He did look up when I laughed him to scorn. "You think that's all there is to it?" I asked him. "Mercy?" He straightened up and turned sideways when the monster roared at him and tried to squeeze into the narrow passageway. "Please, Kennedy, if I didn't want poor Ashley to see how I blew your brains out, I could've just let her stare at a wall."

He paled as it all began to sink in. "She's a witness."

I smiled sweetly.

He sighed. "Else you can just tell them I was killed in action."

"And that's what makes her your new best friend doesn't it?" I smiled.

There was a shriek and the mutated beast landed on top of the containers, shooting a tentacle down into the gap where Leon was standing and he broke into a run.

"I'll just spell it out for you, Kennedy, in case it still hasn't become clear," I shouted after him. "I _will_ be your cause of death!"

"You'll never get away with this, Alex, and you know it!" he shouted in response.

I sank to my knees and hooked my fingers in the metal grids. "I don't give a _fuck_. At least I'll die a happy girl."

My rattling on the grids had finally caught the creature's attention and he looked up at me, tongue darting out of his mouth and eyes bloodshot.

"Ah nuts…"

He shivered and a bloody second head with pincers like a crab's shot out of his back. With a roar it jumped onto one of the containers and reached out for me. I cursed and jumped out of the way; the two pincers crushed the grids where I had been seconds earlier. I heard the siren and the red light told me Leon had pressed the second switch and it was time for me to get the hell out. Just as I turned, the sick son of a bitch stretched his tentacle and wrapped it around my ankle, pulling me down. I could just clutch the metal grids before being dragged down into the cage.

I had the upper hand, I didn't intend on losing it so easily. "Argh, let go!" I cried and tried to pull myself up, but he clung on tightly, jerking at my ankle and I shrieked in pain. I was running out of time. I saw the red gate slide open and Leon hurried into the final segment. He looked over his shoulder and saw me fighting for my life. I saw something in his eyes, it looked like pity. I didn't need his pity.

The tentacle tightened even harder and I screamed. There had to be something, anything, some sort of weapon. _Anything_.

I looked at the burns on my wrists. With my left hand I held on tightly, my right hand dared lower itself into my pants pocket. "Thanks dad," I muttered, kissed my Zippo then looked down. Still jerking at my leg, the creature roared, his mouth wide open. I got my cue, clutched the lighter tightly in my fist then threw it down.

The monster gulped coughed and retched, and let go. The alarm now louder than ever, I heaved myself onto my feet, winced when I felt the searing pain shoot through my ankle then hurried towards the next segment. Bellow me, the creature had accepted his new prey had gotten away and shot towards the segment as well, where Leon hastily went searching for the other two switches. Only a few feet away from the red gate, I heard the cables click free and the ground fell from bellow my feet. I reached out and my fingers narrowly clasped around the edge of the grids.

I groaned, dangling above the dark depths of the endless abyss. There was more gunfire close by, resounding against the cave walls. I took a deep breath and pulled myself up. This wasn't over yet. I still had to find a way to get off this last part of the cage and back onto solid ground. The cage shook when the beast now more bloodthirsty than ever moved through the passages in search of Kennedy.

I limped forward. In the distance, at the other end off the cage there was a tunnel, possibly leading back out of this hellhole, likelier into another one. The only problem was the about fifty feet long gap between the cage and the tunnel. Too far to take a running jump. I clasped one of the chains. Maybe, once they released the cage, I could try and swing towards the cave wall. If it was strong enough to hold a cage like this, hell, it'd better hold me as well.

The alarm went when Leon hit the second switch and I could see him striding along the containers, ever watchful, heading for the red gate. "You won't get away," I gasped, blood boiling. "Not this time…" I held on tightly to the chain when the red gate opened and Leon rushed through. There he was confronted by the gap. The creature caught up with him so he had no choice. He trusted off from the railing and leapt.

The creature swung at him but missed and with a click, the cage broke free and both were sent into the depths. Meanwhile, Kennedy swung the cable attached to his belt and managed to attach himself to the edge off the cliff.

I cursed and began to swing back and forth on the cable, reminding myself not to look down, focus on Kennedy, focus on getting there before him. You're so close, Alex. After all those years you are so darn close.

Leon began to climb up and cast a look over his shoulder, spotting me, dangling from the cable, doing my very best to swing far enough to make it to the tunnel. Just a few more swings, Alex, I told myself as I swung my feet forward. Nearly dare. Revenge is nigh.

Kennedy fastened his climbing and slid over the rocks like an insect. I'd squash that bug.

After a final swing I let go off the chain, threw myself forward and successfully reached the tunnel, rolled over the dry hard ground and got to my feet. I turned round and tears formed in my eyes.

I had given Kennedy sufficient time to get up and take his gun, aiming it at me.

I panted. No… It had been perfect. So perfect…

His eyes widened when we heard a roar coming from within the depths of the abyss. He carefully shuffled backwards and glanced over the edge of the cliff.

I needn't look. I knew that beast wasn't dead yet. Instead I turned and ran deeper into the tunnel, until I reached a second little cave with a large boulder in the middle. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Kennedy sprinting after me, a tentacle appeared around the edge of the cliff. I snuck behind the boulder and waited for the growls to get louder and closer. There was a scream and the sound of an iron gate closing. I peeked around the edge and saw Leon firing a few rounds at the mutated creature, before fleeing into a smaller tunnel. The creature followed him.

I stared at the tunnel entrance in front of me and could hear Kennedy's gunfire come from within. I shuffled closer, ignoring the pain in my ankle. No doubt, this was the other end. There was a red lever to its side and I looked up. The bottom of an iron fence was barely visible. Could it be?

Kennedy appeared running away from the creature. He paled when he saw me, eyes wide with bloodlust and smirk on my face. "Alex, Alex no don't!"

It's too late to beg for mercy, Kennedy. I took the lever and pushed it down. Immediately the fence dropped and shut Leon in. He slammed into the fence and looked at me. I smiled in return, took a few steps back and watched the beast appear. Kennedy turned again and fired at him, it staggered backwards then roared in anger. Don't worry, he'll run out of ammo eventually.

Suddenly however, his eyes went from Kennedy to me. It almost seemed as if he was studying me and clearly he remembered how he'd almost crushed my ankle and knew that at this point I was a far easier prey than Leon, who had surprisingly little injuries.

The smile melted from my face when it dug itself into the ground and disappeared. Even Kennedy looked surprised. My heart skipped a beat when I felt the ground rumble beneath my feet.

"Shit."

I jumped back when the pincers shot out of the ground and nearly broke me in half. I fell down on my back and quickly rolled aside, causing the pincers to miss me once again. I got to my feet and looked around. I was defenceless. The beast crawled back out of the ground and hissed at me. I clenched my fists and gave him a one-two to the face. This, however, was not the best time to use the 'it can't do any harm and it may do some good' strategy, because I'd only pissed it off even more.

Unable to duck, his tentacle hit me in the side and I smacked against the rock. After falling on the ground I moaned and twitched a little, but found I was too dizzy to get up.

So this is how the notorious Alex Grace goes then. "I was so close, John," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Hey! Over here big guy!"

If there's one thing that sucks harder than dying at the hands of a mutated centipede, it's being rescued from said centipede by Kennedy.

"Don't be a fool," I told him, though I doubted he had the ability to be anything else. He just stood there, waving his arms trying to attract the creature's attention. But why go after Kennedy when you've got a close to death tasty meal lying at your feet. I guess because Kennedy is firing holes in your body.

It roared and lost its interest in me. "That's right," Kennedy said. "Come and get it." He released a grenade from his belt. When he saw the creature was at a safe distance he tossed it over, the creature looked down at it for a second then hissed angrily, before the grenade exploded and sent several limbs in several directions. The remains fell to the ground and within seconds the body began to disintegrate into the ground.

I opened my eyes and looked down the barrel of Leon's gun. "Just do it," I told him. "Get it over with."

He sighed deeply and lowered his gun, then extended his free hand to help me up. I gave it one disgustful look then rolled over and began to cry in shame.

* * *

**Queen Luana: **Phew. Finally this chapter's done. And Kennedy lives. Who would've thought that? (Kennedy fans, most likely) Coming up is the almost final chapter. Yeah, so I'm skipping through a LOT. The next chapter will be... weird. I guess.


	17. Chapter 17

**Queen Luana: **Here we go, I'm not sure what to expect from this chapter, but we'll see now won't we? Due to some financial challenges I haven't been able to buy RE5 yet. But I will! I will sooon…

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**Goodbye, mister Kennedy**

"Alex. Let's get going."

I pressed my head against the cold, wet rock to ease the glowing of my face. I felt feverish and at that moment I liked nothing better than just to seize to exist. I had failed. A golden opportunity and I had missed it.

"Alex." Kennedy crouched next to me. "Let's go."

I blinked numbly and rose. Next to me was the puddle of goo that had been the mutated monster minutes ago. I frowned when I saw something shiny lying in the middle of it and recognised my lighter covered in a thick slime. I leaned over and picked it up. It was sickeningly warm. "Ugh." I motioned Leon to come closer and wiped it clean at his shirt.

"Alex…" he groaned.

"It's not over yet, Leon," I told him. "It's over when it's over." I picked some sand out of the inscription in my Zippo. "Stay on your guard."

I lead the way through a small passage, to a ladder leading us up into another cold building. I leaned against a wall and painfully rubbed my ankle. No more running for me. I heard my cell phone and when I turned around, Leon held it out to me. I took it with a sigh and flicked it open. "Hey, sicko," I said, assuming Hunnigan still hadn't found a way to make contact.

"Miss Grace, still alive I see," Saddler said.

"I'm a nail in your coffin," I told hem as Leon and I slowly moved forward. "So what've you got for me now? More of your mutated, plaga infested puppets?"

"It seems I have underestimated you, miss Grace."

"Or maybe you just overrated yourself."

"Believe whatever you may," he said darkly, "but to think you'll make it off of this island alive is foolish and naïve."

"Listen, shitface, I'll tell you something," I snapped. "I'm coming to get Ashley whether you like it or not and next time we meet you're a dead man. _And stop calling me_!" I flicked my cell shut and tucked it away. "Fucker."

I pushed open the nearest door and peeked inside. "Complete and utter darkness. How much fun." With a sigh I turned on my flashlight. "This is going to be… jumpy."

"Stay close to me," Leon said as we moved in. "You're still unarmed."

"Oh gee, I'd almost forgotten about that," I scoffed and moved my flashlight along the room. It seemed a bit like an office. There was a desk with a lot of junk and closets along the walls. "I don't like the dark."

Leon rumbled through all the junk. "Nothing useful."

I strolled around and found a hallway. There were cells on each side. "Hah. It's a prison."

"You think Ashley's in here?"

"No, I don't think so," I said. "Else this place would be guarded." I observed the corridor. "Isn't there a light switch anywhere coincidentally?" I saw a container to my left in peeked inside. A bloody jute sack was lying inside. How peculiar… I shrieked when it started to move and twitch around, bobbing up and down. Leon jumped when he heard my scream and fired three bullets in the sack. It wriggled and then stopped moving. "What you reckon is in that thing?"

"I honestly don't wanna know," Leon muttered. I extended my finger in order to poke it and he quickly pulled back my arm. "Alex, just don't, please."

"Party pooper," I mocked and swung my flashlight around. "Hope no one heard us." I leaned into the corridor. "Hello? Mutated freaks? Anyone there?" I shrieked again and jumped backwards when my flashlight had revealed a tall regenerator walking towards us, hissing and gargling. "Well don't just stand there looking like an idiot and shoot it for crying out loud!" I snapped at him.

"Easy," he said and held up the rifle. "I'm on it." He fired four times in a row and the regenerator shook angrily then shuffled forward.

"What are you waiting for, the elves?" I asked him. "Kill it!"

"I shot all the plagas," he said and without further ado I jerked the gun out of his hands.

"Lemme see." I peeked through the scope and saw indeed no red swellings left to shoot. He was just like that freaking pinned kind we'd come across earlier. "Fuck." I shot him in the head, but no effect. Within seconds there was a new one standing on his shoulders and he waved his long arms angrily. When he did so, I could see a flash of red on its back. That's it. I aimed lower and shot one of his legs from underneath him. He fell down flat on his belly and now I could clearly see the large red swelling on his back. Bingo.

"Alex!" Leon shouted as it wriggled towards us across the floor. I shot the last plaga and within seconds, the regenerator exploded.

I trusted the rifle back into his hands. "Don't _ever_ scare me like that again." He looked a little surprised when I gave him back the rifle so easily. "Don't give me that look, I couldn't possibly shoot you from this close with a gun like that."

"I see."

"More creepy hallways," I sighed as we strolled through another one. "If they weren't brainless puppets I'm sure someone would've complained about the terrible work climate by now."

"At least the lights are back."

"Eh, it's what you call light," I said looking up at the eerie lamps dangling from the ceiling, filling the rooms in a faint glow. "Hey look, a door." We turned right through double doors and I gasped. "Ashley!" She was locked in some sort of ceiled off chamber in glass. Oxygen was being pumped in and out through a maze of tubes. She almost looked dead. I ran over to the cabin and started pounding the glass. "Ashley, can you hear me, sweetie?"

"You'll soon harbour an awesome power."

I turned around and saw Saddler had walked into the room. "You…"

"Yet it seems you would rather choose death." He raised his hand and instantly I cramped op and fell down on the ground jolting with pain, forming in my stomach but soon spreading out to my entire body. I looked at my arms and saw black threads reaching for my fingertips underneath my skin.

"Alex!"

"Shoot him," I barked before coughing loudly, trying to keep back the vomit.

I heard the rattling of my TMP and the pain diminished. I pulled myself up and smacked the green button next the Ashley's cell. The glass door slid open and the chair Ashley was sitting in lowered. I took her in my arms and swung her right arm over my shoulder. "Come on, Ashley, wake up. I ain't carrying you all the way back to America."

"Let's run," Leon said and led the way into a smaller hallway. "Take cover." He took a grenade and threw it towards the entrance. I could just catch a glimpse of Saddler straightening, though by his cape you could see he had been drilled with ammo. Then the grenade exploded and the entrance collapsed, locking us out from Saddler. "Is Ashley all right?"

"Yeah," I said and patted her cheek when she blinked drowsily. "I guess I was a little premature with the 'next time we meet you're a dead man' threat."

Ashley straightened. "Alex? Aw…" She pressed her temple painfully. She looked at me. "I almost didn't recognise you."

I smiled and threw my dreads back. "Yeah."

"Here." She handed me a ribbon from her wrist. "You look better with your hair tied back."

I chuckled and tied my hair back and she smiled cheerfully. "Does it satisfy the president's daughter?"

"Very much," she said. "So how are you guys? Everything still okay?"

I eyed Leon. "Yeah. Perfectly fine." Damn it. "This time we're getting out of here, for real. Saddler had to interfere himself, that means he's running out of little henchmen to do everything for him."

"I guess you're right." Leon reloaded the TMP. "Let's get moving then." He opened a door and peeked inside.

"See anything?" I asked him when he pulled back.

"Nope," he said and turned on the flashlight on his belt. "Nothing."

"Great," I grumbled. "Did these guys forget to pay the bill or something?" I said when we stepped into another pitchblack hallway.

"H-Hey," Ashley stumbled, "don't I get a flashlight?"

I sighed and held out my lighter.

"Thanks…" she said when I flicked it open and the tiniest flame sprouted from it. I swung my arm around her shoulders to keep her close.

"We're sitting ducks, swinging those flashlights around like this," I said. "I hope you realise that."

"It's still better than being jumped at in the dark," Leon said and checked the ceiling and walls for anything moving. "Here."

When I looked down I saw he was handing me back my handgun. I frowned at him.

"Might come in handy," he smiled and glanced at Ashley.

You suck, Kennedy. "Don't piss me off," I told him and took the handgun. "Just don't." I took the flashlight between my teeth and checked the ammo. Eighteen bullets left. Perhaps not enough to fight for my life but I could still accidentally shoot Kennedy, couldn't I? I mean, I can be a real butterfingers sometimes…

"Dead end," he said when we reached a wall. I took a few steps back and aimed the flashlight at the corridor.

"This one goes nowhere either," I said. I took a closer look at the wall in front of us and touched it. "Hey, hang on, this isn't a wall. It's one of those gate things they have at supermarkets and stuff." I frowned and pressed my ear against it.

"Well, then we should be able to open it," Leon said and observed the wall next to it.

Did I percept a distinct gargling?

"Ah, here it is."

I pushed Ashley back when Leon pressed a switch next to the door and turned off my flashlight. Leon jumped back when a regenerator peeked inside. "I think it wants to give you a hug, Kennedy," I smiled enjoying my cover of darkness.

After recovering from the shock he took the rifle and took it down with two shots. "A little warning, next time," he told me but I only smiled sweetly and turned my flashlight back on.

The dark hallway continued on the other side and we moved forward cautiously. Ashley clutched my arm the entire time. She wasn't too fond of those regenerating creeps. After walking for a short distance we ran into another one of those gates.

"Hear anything?" Leon asked me. I rolled my eyes and pressed my ear against the door. When doing so I spotted the gate was lifted a little over a foot above the ground. I lied down and peeked underneath it.

"Looks clear," I said and got back up.

Leon checked the walls and found another button. He pressed it but nothing happened. He tried again, but still nothing. "Guess it's broke." He crouched and tried to pull it up, but it was secured tightly and wouldn't move an inch.

Ashley moaned. "Now what." She clapped her hands in front of our mouth when we heard something that sounded like a plate clattering on the ground, back there where we had come from. After that all was silent. "What was that?"

"I don't know. Could've been mice or something."

"Could've been something else as well," Leon said. We stared into the hallway quietly for a while. "Let's find a way to get through this, just to make sure." He pressed his hands against the gate. "Maybe we could shoot holes in it…"

"Sure if you really want to waste all of our precious ammo," I grumbled and sank back to my knees. "Gimme a sec." I ran my flashlight along the next part of the corridor but nothing budged on the other side. "I could try squeezing underneath it," I said and took off my backpack.

"And then what?"

"Then we'll fucking see," I snapped and pushed the backpack to the other side. I clenched the flashlight between my teeth and aimed my gun into the hallway. "'Ere goes…" I pressed myself against the cold floor and slipped underneath the gate. It scoured my back and I groaned. If falling on that rocket launcher a dozen times hadn't done well then this certainly did. When I had finally slipped through I got to my feet and checked the hallway one more time. Darkness there and nothing more…

"It's clear," I said and lied back down again, aiming my flashlight at Ashley. "What do you think, Ashley, think you can squeeze through?"

"I'll try," she said quietly and lied down on her belly.

"Take your time," I told her and slightly pulled her arm. She squeaked slightly. She indeed was a little more gifted in the chest area than I was. "Almost there," I told her and when she got to the other side I helped her up. She immediately flicked the lighter back open and turned around to check whether there wasn't anything sneaking up on us. I peeked underneath the gate. "What do you think, Kennedy?"

"I'm too big," he said and crouched.

"Well, if you don't try, we'll just have to leave you here to rot."

"Thanks, Alex."

"Hey, I'm being supportive here, all right? Just take off all that mess you're carrying and try. You wouldn't happen to have a jar of grease with you?" You'll never fit, Kennedy. But just give me the guns already so there'll be no demerits to leaving you behind.

With a sigh he took off the rocket launcher and TMP and passed it to me. I swung the TMP over my shoulder and trusted the rocket launcher into Ashley's arms.

"What do you expect me to do with this?" she asked me.

"Just hang on to it for a while," I told her.

She turned around. "Hey wait, there's another switch over here."

I got up and saw her reaching out for a red button on her right. Shit. "Ashley, wait…" But she had already pressed it and I heard the gate going up behind me. I sighed. Damn it. You're really losing my respect Ashley. Another golden opportunity and once again I missed it. I turned around and aimed the flashlight at Leon so I could see his arrogant face.

He chuckled. "Guess I'm gonna need a diet in case that happens again, huh?"

Ashley screamed loudly and the lighter and rocket launcher fell down on the ground. I paled when inches behind Leon, I could see the orange eyes of a regenerator lighting up. Leon frowned when he saw me stare, flashlight shaking in one hand.

He screamed loudly and howled in agony when the regenerator grabbed him and bit into his shoulder. Blood spluttered everywhere and Kennedy dropped the rifle he'd been holding.

Meanwhile, Ashley screamed even louder. When I turned I saw tears were running down her cheeks, her eyes were tightly shut and she pressed her hands against her ears.

It was almost like a gift from fate. It was all too easy at this point. I could just shoot Kennedy with one of the eighteen bullets I had left and while the regenerator feasted on his corpse, Ashley and I could make a run for it. She'd never know. I could tell her I had tried to shoot the regenerator instead. She wasn't watching, she couldn't even see me smile as Leon died at my hands.

But I should've known better than to think fate was smiling at me. Because fate is a sadistic pig.

You see, they always say that the second before you die, your life flashes by in front of your eyes. What they never tell you is that the second before you enter a new chapter in your life, it does the exact same thing.

Of all the memories rushing by, the first one was of the three boys who used to bully me around. One day I had swiped my father's pocketknife from his desk and had threatened the three of them when they were waiting for me at the playground. Things had gotten a little out of hand and one of them had to be taken to the doctor to get the gash in his hand stitched. That was the first time I was kicked out of school, at the age of seven.

My next vivid memory was the lecture my mum gave me when I told her about my plans to go study at the academy so I could become an agent. "It's not because you get kicked out of every school we send you to that you can just go and do whatever you feel like!"

Naturally, all following memories were of John. Meeting him at the shooting range. Him finally asking me out for dinner after he was no longer my official tutor. Making out near the docks after said dinner. And then a conversation I had somehow long forgotten about.

"_If I died, would you avenge me?"_

_I smiled and snuggled up close to him. "I'd hunt him down to the edge of the world."_

_John cocked his head back. "That's good…"_

The next memory took place in Arclay Mountains. John being shot. Again. And again. And again. And again. It was so unbelievably painful to see all of it _again_.

The funeral. Kennedy reaching out his hand telling me he's sorry.

John's grave. "I'll avenge you, John. I won't rest till I do."

And in this cocktail of memories of John just twirling around, clouding my mind, all of the sudden, inexplicably, there's Luis. I'm sitting on the stairs at the entrance of Salazar's castle and he's talking to me.

"_You know, there is a tribe in Africa that has a peculiar ritual. When a criminal is caught, he is thrown into a river, legs attached to a rock. The one he has done harm to, is given a knife and a choice. He can let this criminal drown, and have his revenge, or he can dive into the river, cut the rope, and save him."_

"_Why would they do that?"_

"_Because they know revenge doesn't lead to healing," he said, "acceptance does."_

_"That's good," John smiled. "But whatever you do, don't lose yourself doing so. Don't ever lose yourself, Alex. In the end, death is never something you can justify."_

And that's exactly what makes fate an everyday asshole. Because that's exactly what I did. I took the dive.

The gun fell from my hand as I rushed forward, heart beating in my throat, tears forming in my eyes and everything else just disappearing. I sank to my knees and picked up the rifle. I aimed, hands ever steady. And I fired.

Ashley gasped and looked up when she realised what had just happened.

The regenerator groaned when a bullet pierced his left eye and he released Leon, who sank to the ground instantly. I took aim again and fired a second time and a third time, until the creature exploded in a gush of blood and gore.

Then I lowered the rifle, nausea overwhelming me. The chaos ended. Ashley's screams had stopped and the gargling of the regenerator was gone. And in the middle of the scene I sat, motionless. My head told me to get to my feet but none of my limbs would obey. A droning numbness spread over my entire being and I watched Leon crawl back up. He was pale because of the blood loss. Other than that, he was fine. A flashlight was aimed directly into my face but I couldn't even blink.

Ashley shuffled forward and carefully crouched beside me. "Alex?" she said softly, "are you okay?"

I did the only thing left for me to do. I threw my head back and screamed.

* * *

**Queen Luana: **Wow, I think my heart stopped beating for a while there. And then it decided to start jumping up and down my body yuch. I was looking forward to this chapter from the beginning and in the end I even began to doubt whether I should do this. You think it doesn't suit her personality? Too bad. I created her so I get to decide. And yeah, I picked the title to misguide you a little. Mehe…


	18. Chapter 18

**Queen Luana : **Here we are, sorry it took so long. Busy with school (final exams) and another week of no internet and everything and theatre and (we ruled). Check my avatar to see why exactly we did. Except for the epilogue, this is the final chapter! *audible gasp* I did it! Enjoy.

* * *

**A promise kept**

"Alex?" Ashley's soft whisper rebounded from the moist walls of the hallway we were creeping through. My flashlight danced along the floor and ceiling, but all was quiet and still. Water trickled down the many pipes and the squeaking of rats echoed through the maze of corridors.

Leon groaned occasionally. The wound at his shoulder was still bleeding heavily and he was pressing Ashley's sweater against it in order to stem it.

"Alex?" Ashley tried again tearfully, louder this time.

"This way," I muttered and took a left. She began to cry. She pressed her lips against the cold metal of the rocket launcher and muffled her sobs. I had barely spoken a word ever since she had helped me up from the ground and we had proceeded our search for freedom. Almost lifeless I had lead the way as in an automatism and she had followed in silence, supporting Leon who grew dizzy with pain. Inside, a numb feeling reigned and though my limbs still moved my heart was lost in any of my actions.

A piece of me had died back there. But then again, for the past six years, I had been falling apart piece by piece. A process of degradation that grew more visible to my surroundings and less to myself.

An electronic door opened at my approach and I walked in, gun not even raised but resting in its holster pointlessly. The room was dark and I searched the wall for a switch, found one and turned it on. Strip lights flickered on the ceiling and seconds later the room was engulfed by light.

I bet this was Tobin Bell's wet dream. A dentist's chair stood in the middle of the room and the shelves against the walls were stacked with bottles and medical equipment.

"An infirmary," Ashley whispered. "Sit down, Leon." With a moan Leon plumped down in the chair and Ashley rumbled through all the items on the shelves. I walked over to the desk on my left. Files and pictures were spread on its surface. Plagas bursting out of corpses had been caught on photographs and had been attached to the endless amount of notes and articles.

Ashley had found a first aid kit and was busy treating Leon's shoulders. He refused the morphine she offered him because it'd make him drowsy so all she could do was bandage his wounds. And it only took a few moments until the cloth grew red with his own blood. "We need to get you some help," she said, "you lost a lot of blood."

"I'll manage for now," he said and got up from the chair.

Ashley rubbed her hands together and glimpsed at me. "You think she'll be all right?" she spoke softly and watched me flip through the papers concerning Plaga insertion.

Leon shrugged. "I hope so."

I tossed the papers aside. Don't talk about me when I'm close enough to hear it. All of this research was Luis'. Despite his Spanish origin, he'd written everything in English. As if he had been hoping someone else would read it. Though he had approached his research as a scientist at first, clearly, you could see how his conscience began to surface as his findings expanded. More and more, he started criticizing his own work, and began to turn against it.

You were a good man, Luis. I wish we could've ended this misery together. I crumpled up the paper I was holding. So much pain…

Ashley lowered her head when she saw me lean over the desk, hands covering my eyes and shoulders shaking with sorrowful sobs.

Leon squeezed Ashley's shoulder. "I'll go on ahead…" He gave her a meaningful look then left the room.

Ashley shuffled forward. "Alex…"

"For so many years people have told me to be strong," I said and wiped away the tears from my cheeks. "And I listened… I've sacrificed everything in order to cope. Well, I don't wanna be strong anymore. I want my moment of weakness. I want comfort!"

Standing behind me she wrapped her arms around my waist.

"I'm weak… And afraid…"

"That's okay," she said softly.

My fists relaxed and I placed one hand on hers. They were warm and sticky with Kennedy's blood. Soon my sobs eased and I lowered my head.

"I'm sorry," I told her when she let go.

"Don't be," she said in that natural way of hers. "We all get scared sometimes."

I nodded. "Don't tell Kennedy."

She laughed quietly. "I won't." She chuckled softly and wiped a speck of blood from her cheek. "You know, for a moment there, when you went in to kill that regenerator, I thought you were just going back to get the rifle…"

I laughed through my sobs. "Does sound like me."

"So how about you, while we're here, lemme have a look at your wrists…"

I'd almost forgotten I had burned them severely while desperately trying to free myself from my own hair ribbon. They were now reddish and covered in white vesicles. Ashley mended them with care, first cleansing them with bottled water then applying ointment before bandaging them as well.

"You'd make a good nurse," I smiled when she was busy washing her own hands. I sauntered through the room, running my looks along the shelves and examined the machine hovering above the chair. "What is this anyway?"

"I don't know," she said. "Some sort of radiation device…"

I snatched a clipboard from a nearby monitor and flipped through the pages. My eyes widened. "God bless you, Luis."

* * *

"Are you sure this will work?" Ashley squeaked when she sat down in the chair.

"So far, Luis hasn't let me down," I said, and loaded the plaga removal procedure as described by Luis' notes. "And it's the only option we have to get the plaga out of your body."

"Will it hurt?"

I eyed her and sighed deeply. "Yes."

She took a deep breath and leaned back. "Figures. I wouldn't have believed you if you said it wouldn't."

My finger hovered above the big round button. "We're almost home, Ashley." I pressed it.

The lasers turned round above the chair in order to localise the parasite. There was a jet of white light and Ashley jolted up with a shriek. More jets fired into her body and on the screen I could see the plaga struggling to resist, clinging onto every possible bit of flesh in Ashley's body. She squirmed in her seat.

Craps, I knew I should've gone first…

The screen bleeped and the plaga vanished. "It's over," I said and helped her get up. Her knees were trembling.

"That was… unpleasant."

"My turn," I said and sat down. I could feel the little tentacles digging deep into my flesh when the rays of light hit me and the plaga began to squirm and fight for his life. This freaking blows, Luis. I jolted up and a scream narrowly escaped my mouth. The room was turning when Ashley leaned over.

"Alex?"

"Nothing but a monthly routine right," I said and got up. I pressed a hand on my solar plexus. "I'm all me again." It was as if a burden had fallen from my shoulders and relief washed over me.

Ashley's threw her arms around my shoulders. "We can go home…"

I patted her shoulder. "Come on, girl. Let's get the hell out of this place."

Leon was waiting outside and the blonde looked sickeningly healthy for someone who just had half his shoulder ripped off. Needing to look directly at his face was still unbearably hard.

"You okay, Leon?" Ashley asked skipping forward. "You seem awfully pale…"

"I'm fine. Thanks to your good caring." He looked at me as I searched my pockets for that last cigarette. "The road ahead seems clear." The road ran along the old buildings and it was covered in rubble and toppled over containers.

"Just a quiet walk then?" I said and held out the crumpled up package of cigarettes and pulled out the last one.

"I'll walk in front of you," Ashley immediately cried and ran up ahead.

"Ashley…" I sighed deeply and walked after her, Leon marching at my side. I searched my pockets for my lighter. "Where…" I frowned when Leon held it out and lit my cigarette.

"Ashley dropped it," he said and handed it back once my fag was lit.

I tucked it away and took a drag. "Figures."

"Thank you, Alex."

"Don't start," I said and rolled my eyes.

"You did the right thing."

"Hell yeah, I did. I should be awarded the freaking Nobel Prize."

He laughed softly.

"How's your shoulder?"

"I'll live," he said and watched Ashley crawl over a boulder blocking the path. "When I saw you rush forward, at first I thought you were just getting the rifle."

Seriously… what the hell?

"Then I thought you were intending on putting me out of my misery, if I may use an euphemism on this one."

"Go ahead."

"I must say it took me a while to grasp what was happening." He looked at me. "Why did you do it, Alex?"

"Conscience's a bitch," I said softly and ticked the ashes from the tip of my cigarette. "Look, Kennedy. You're still alive, thanks to my doing, ironically enough. You have no idea how devastading this is for my pride. So, don't rub it in my face. Ashley, don't wander off too far!"

In the distance, Ashley turned around and waved at me as to say 'okay'. The rocket launcher was hanging over her shoulder and she almost looked like a special agent herself. Almost. She waited obediently while Leon and I marched onward. She was pretty lively, considering the circumstances. I almost admired her in some way.

"Come on, slowpokes!" she cried.

"She won't be so happy when mister president grounds her for the next three years," I muttered and Leon laughed.

"I hope he does."

I looked down at my cigarette and twirled it between thumb and finger. A feeble smile formed on my lips. What's the use, Alex? I tossed it aside.

"ALEX!" Ashley's scream was high-pitched and shrill and stemmed from nothing but pure terror.

When my mouth opened to ask what was going on, I felt a heavy cold feeling on my shoulders. It's then when I noticed Ashley was looking at something directly behind me. I recognised the cold feeling as the grasp of two almost dead hands. It didn't take long for me to realise whose hands they were.

A high gasp escaped my mouth when the hands jerked me backwards and I was pulled off my feet. Leon had turned by then and took a dive forward, reached out a sweaty hand. The tips of our fingers touched, then slipped apart.

"NO!" I cried desperately still clawing at him, before I was pressed against a cold hard body. And then there was silence.

At the academy, when John was still my instructor, he had told me that being injured consists out of two phases.

The first phase is a phase of pure numbness. You are aware of everything happening around you but it doesn't really seem to reach you and you feel close to nothing. I could see Leon and Ashley rushing forward, Leon grabbing his riffle and yelling something, Ashley opening her mouth with screams and stretching out her arms towards me but I couldn't quite hear what they were saying or yelling, or why they were doing so. This state of almost lifelessness lasts for a few seconds.

The next phase is all the seconds that follow. At this point, you feel everything.

And it's all pain.

I opened my mouth in a painful scream while agony seared through my body. The hands had released me by that time and I tried to raise my arms. Clenching my teeth together and tears streaming down my dirty cheeks I grabbed the two steel pins that had pierced my upper body. They had gone straight through the bullet proof vest… "God!" I cried when I looked down and saw another one had gone through my upper leg, right through the bone it seemed, and felt another one by my left shoulder. Each and every pin was covered with a darkred blood and I cried trying to move but too much in pain to free myself.

The regenerator hissed loudly in my ear.

"Alex!" Leon levelled the scope of the rifle with his eye and aimed.

"Help…" I whimpered still pinned to the regenerator's body, "please…" Just shoot me… kill me…

"Leon!" Ashley begged him.

"I can't get a clear shot!"

Ashley leaned over, grabbed some rocks at her feet and started throwing them into my direction in order the get the regenerator's attention. "Hey!" she cried. "Over here!" A tiny rock went over my shoulder and hit the creature in the head who gargled angrily. "Leave… Alex… alone!" She was crying heavily.

The regenerator turned and Leon fired. It shrieked and the pins withdrew, dropping me to the floor.

"Get her out of here, Ashley!"

I lied face down on the ground jolting with spasms of pain. More shots were fired and the creature gargled angrily. Two shivering hands grasped my wrists, rolled me over on my back and dragged me away.

"Alex, hang on…" Ashley lied me down behind a container. "Don't die… Just hang on…"

I coughed. "This is so unfair…" I take the dive, I save the bastard who ruined my life and then this is what fucking fate gives me in return? This is my reward? I hate you, fate, and if we should ever meet I'll be the one kicking you in the groin, flushing your head down the toilet and stealing your wallet.

I saw Leon leaning over me and he began tugging at the straps on my vest. "Gimme a hand, Ashley…"

I closed my eyes and prayed for the pain to ease…

Leon was crouching beside me when I opened my eyes again. "Press here," he told Ashley. The pain was almost gone and I felt drowsy. Clearly the effect of a few shots of morphine. Ashley was still sobbing while Leon was applying bandages on my wounds. They'd ripped off a piece of my pants to treat the wound at my upper leg and had taken off my top as well.

I managed to raise my hand and took hold of Leon's upper arm. "I better not catch you smiling, pervert," I mumbled while Leon poured some water over the wound in my chest. They both looked up at my face in surprise, before I lost consciousness again.

"She's still breathing normally, so her lungs are okay. I think the pins missed her vital organs."

I was bobbing up and down and opened my eyes wearily. Leon was carrying me on his back and I felt a buzzing pain soar through my body; the morphine was losing its effect. Both my arms were swung over his shoulders and his hands were hooked underneath my knees. My head bobbed up and down with each step.

"So… she'll be all right?"

"I hope so… I'd never forgive myself."

I raised my head a little and saw Ashley marching in front of us, head hung low. I checked my arms and saw I was wearing Ashley's bloody sweater. "This is one butt-ugly sweater, Ashley…"

Leon stopped in his tracks and peeked at me. Ashley turned around and smiled at me. "You're awake…"

"You should've left me behind," I muttered. "I'm a burden."

"No one's being left behind, Alex," Leon said and continued to walk.

"I would've left _you_ behind…"

Ashley giggled quietly.

"I'm guessing you'll be just fine, Alex," Leon said, smiling. We reached an elevator and Leon carefully took me off his back and sat me down against a rock. "How are you feeling?"

"I would love to say I've had worse," I said softly and winced. "But I really don't think I have…"

Leon watched the elevator. "I've got a bad feeling about this. I'm gonna have a look. Ashley, you stay here with Alex. Make sure she's okay, all right? If the pain gets worse, give her another shot, but just one. I showed you how to place one, remember?"

Ashley nodded resolutely.

"Why do you do it, Leon?" I asked him. "Worrying so much about my well-being. After all I put you through. Why bother?"

He watched me for a moment. "I promised John."

I looked up at him tearfully.

"I'll be right back." He took Ashley's shoulder and leaned over. "Keep talking to her, make sure she stays awake," he whispered. He stepped into the elevator and went up.

"So the madness is finally coming to an end, huh," I sighed and closed my eyes. "I swear to God, if I had had known what kind of trouble I was getting myself into when I joined the academy I would've reconsidered. Then I would've opened a sportsbar or something." I painfully laid a hand on my left shoulder. "These kind of things weren't in the job description. During my schooling, they were a little vague on details concerning body impalement." I swallowed away a lump in my throat. "I miss John." I laughed softly. "He was the only instructor who was thrilled to hear I had passed all my tests flawlessly. They can't sack you for being reckless."

"He was your instructor?"

I nodded. "Yeah. My mentor. He looked out for me whenever I got into trouble. Which happened quite a lot."

"You really were a troublesome brat, weren't you Alex?"

"Troublesome brat?" I laughed. "That's one way to put it…" I couched and she helped me roll over to my side. I retched and a mix of saliva and blood seeped out of my mouth.

Ashley sat down beside me and held back a lost dread while I gasped for air and curled up into a ball.

"I…"

"Save your strength," she whispered.

"I'm cold…" I shivered and a tear trickled down my cheek. I wished I could just crawl into somebody's arms and be safe. I felt so small and vulnerable, so helpless. "I want John…"

"Rest some more," she said and squeezed my upper arm tightly. She couldn't keep me awake when I was feeling so miserable.

I covered my head in my arms and closed my eyes like she said. Weeping softly I slowly dozed off.

The rattling of gunfire woke me up and I tilted my head slightly. Ashley had gotten to her feet and was staring up at the platform, where Leon was. She turned her head when I squirmed to get up. "You okay?"

"Don't worry, Ash," I said, "I'm immortal. Fate doesn't grant me the luxury of dying." I looked sideways at the elevator. "I should be up there, confronting Saddler." My eyelids were heavy and my arms supporting me were weak.

"Leon will do just fine."

"I want to see his face. I want to look him in the eye the moment he realises he's going to die." We heard more gunfire and other unidentified noises. Ashley whimpered.

"Leon…"

I groaned and straightened. "Help me up, Ashley."

She sighed doubtfully then helped me up and supported me as I limped towards the elevator.

"Now that is one nasty mother fucker," I muttered when I saw the huge mutant attacking Leon. At first I hadn't recognised him, until I saw Saddler's body dangling underneath it. "Saddler…"

"Leon," Ashley gasped when he was thrown into the air by the long neck of the spiderlike creature.

I took my arm off of her shoulder and grabbed the railing in front of me. This is it. "Give me the rocket launcher, Ashley."

She blinked at me then took the launcher off her back. "Alex…"

I clenched my teeth and gave no attention to the searing pain in my body when I tried to stand up straight en laid the launcher on my right shoulder. Through the sight I located Saddler. The long neck swept in my direction and I saw his face. It rested in the centre of three sharp claws and his mouth had opened widely to reveal a large yellow eye, which stared at me. He saw the rocket launcher on my shoulder.

I could've gone with many lines at that point. The cocky 'Watch the birdy, bitch', the cliché 'say hello to my little friend', the melodramatic 'this is for you, Luis'… So many options, but at that point I decided to keep things simple. "Just die already," I said and fired. When the rocket left the launcher, I was blown back and fell into Ashley's arms. As she lowered me to the ground I could see the eye widen and the creature roared. Leon ducked aside behind a bunch of barrels and I watched with glee how the rocket made his impact with the mutated Saddler.

Her shrieked loudly and swayed his neck into the air. Two of his limbs fell off and the rest of his body was consumed by flames. It was beautiful. Even from back where we were standing you could smell the stench of burnt flesh. "Smell that, Ashley?" I smiled when she laid me down. "The sweet scent of justice."

"Expert timing, Alex," Leon said. "I was about to use my last bullet."

The three of us were leaning against the railing, watching the sunrise at the horizon, darkness slowly disappearing. The entire island seemed to wallow in silence and peace. Even a few seagulls had landed on the elevated platform we were on, fighting over a fish and pecking at each other's eyes.

Leon painfully placed a hand on his right shoulder. "My shoulder is killing me though…"

I shrieked when my pants pocket buzzed and the seagulls burst into the air. Ashley jumped. "Geesh, Alex…"

I chuckled and checked my cell. Wait, Saddler's dead, so could it be… I flicked it open and held it to my ear. "This is Gra-"

"ALEX! Finally I got contact!" Hunnigan squealed at the other end of the line. I held the cell a few inches away from my ear.

"Yeah, good to hear you too, Hunnigan…" I muttered.

"We couldn't reach you for five hours! We tried everything, I think they jacked the line…What's your status? Is Ashley okay? And Leon? Is Leon with you?"

"They slowed me down, so I had no choice but to neutralize them."

"You _WHAT_?"

I handed my cell to Leon and closed my eyes gleefully. It's good to be able to screw with you again, Hunnigan.

"This is Leon Kennedy. Both Ashley and I are fine. Alex is in bad shape though, we need a chopper as fast as possible."

Ashley smiled broadly when she heard the word chopper and hugged her legs.

"We need explosives as well… Well, enough to blow up a small island. Yeah, and get us some steaks while you're at it."

"And chocolate cake."

"And a family pack of cigarettes."

Within thirty minutes after Leon had passed our coordinates, a chopper arrived to pick us up.

"All explosives are in place," a soldier told us. "Ready for detonation in five minutes." Two paramedics had carried me onto the chopper on a stretcher and both of them paled when they took a closer look at my injuries.

"Just don't ask, boys," I said and waved at the pilot who was smoking. "Sometimes ignorance can be a bliss." Eyes wide he handed me a cigarette when I asked for one and lit it.

"So… we're finally going home huh?" Ashley said with a smile and sat down on one of the chairs in the chopper.

"My boss is gonna tear out his remaining hair when he hears I was _almost_ killed in action," I chuckled and took a drag. One medic hooked me up to a drip and I winced when he injected the needle into my arm. The chopper took off into the topaz morning air. After drugging me some more, the two medics went to check on Leon and Ashley.

"So what are you gonna do when you get back?" Ashley asked while one of them cleaned a cut in her upper arm.

"Me, I'm gonna take a long vacation." Kennedy leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes while the other treated his shoulder.

"Where?"

He chuckled. "Anywhere but Europe."

"I agree," I said and watched the smoke of my cigarette dissolve. "My mum will kill me when she finds out I'm in the hospital." I checked my cell. "I think I'll call her." Ashley smiled when I selected her cell number drowsily. I knew that once the drugs wore off, I wouldn't have the guts to make the call.

"Alex?"

I smiled when I heard her voice. It was always so gentle and caring, even when she was mad with me. The ringing of phones and clattering of keyboards in the background indicated she was at work. "Hey, mum, it's me. Remember three days ago when I told you I was attending a conference in Ohio…"

* * *

**Queen Luana: **There you go, they're off home. And they're all still alive. I was wondering whether I should let Alex die. You know, when Leon says "I was about to use my last bullet", I had ideas of letting Alex go "You were saving it for me". Since she was injured badly, it was possible she wasn't gonna make it and ask Leon to do the final act. But Alex is far too cool to die. She has to be alive in case there's a sequel. There's a final chapter coming up, it'll be short, and full of cheese. Tell me what you think!


	19. Chapter 19

**Queen Luana : **Epilogue ! There's gonna be cheese ! It's a little short, but the first chapter was too so it has a nice symmetry.

* * *

**I'll be fine**

"It's been a while," I said, staring down at the grave desolately. Feminin handwriting had marked the old grave stone with following words:

John Mailer

Loved by all

Gone too sudden

I remembered his mother asking me if I wanted to add the gravestone's text. When she heard my suggestions were all quite similar, 'Someday he'll pay', 'Died but not in vain', she assumed it was a task too unbearable for me so she thought of an inscription herself. I thought it was far too cheesy and not half as powerful as I had wanted it to be. With a text like that's, John's grave simply blended in with all the others.

But hey, I was an emotional mess. Who listens to a girl in that position right?

The flowers in the pots on his grave had begun to wither and the only thing sparkling just as brightly as the day I had placed it there was the diamond ring, pinned against his grave stone, right underneath his smiling reflection. At least they'd allowed me to choose the photograph.

"It's been seven years today," I sighed, close to tears, "and every single day I still wake up praying it's all just a bad dream… It still hurts every morning." I swallowed away the lump in my throat and closed my eyes to prevent the tears from streaming down. "I miss you so much, John."

The sky was clear and sunny and except for me and a pack of sparrows, the graveyard was deserted. I pressed my thigh painfully and made sure to support on the other leg. The wounds hadn't healed just yet. Despite it being two months now, they still ached. Almost as if the they were trying to keep the memory vivid. But so many painful events were yet to come.

The gravel crisped under the footsteps of an approaching person. "This was the second place I expected you to be." Leon Kennedy stopped at my side. "I went to visit you at the hospital but you weren't there. I thought you still needed rest."

"I bribed one of the doctors," I told him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Bribed?"

The corners of my mouth curled upwards playfully. "I told you I'd get laid when I got back."

He laughed heartily and I was amazed that his laugh didn't annoy me for once. "Nice haircut."

My free hand, the one that wasn't supporting on a crutch, went up and stroked through the short locks of silky brown hair. "I though it was time to go with a new look," I said, "a new Alex Grace. I quit smoking as well, just so you know. Cold turkey's a bitch." I didn't see baby's crawling over the ceiling just yet, but I was close to. "So, how's everything at work?"

"Believe it or not, but there's actually people starting to miss you."

"You don't say." I smiled. "They're probably missing their scapegoat." I scratched the back of my head. "Though it was a bit of a shock when my boss called and told me I was welcome to come back as soon as I had recovered. He even sent me flowers. So, I believe a thank you is in order."

He turned to me. "For what?"

I cleared my throat. "For… _subtly_ leaving out the bits where I tried to kill you."

He smiled. "Well, I didn't mention the part where you saved my ass either so I guess that makes us even."

"Fair enough," I nodded. "How about you? I heard you got some fancy position at the white house nowadays."

"Ashley's personal bodyguard," he said. "She asked me to tell you she has been trying to visit you, but her father's very strict on safety right now."

"I'll visit her myself once I have enough strength to walk fifty feet without collapsing on the spot," I said. "My leg's pretty messed up. I hope it'll heal." I rubbed it up and down to ease the aching. "I've never seen my mum cry so badly." I moistened my lips. "That look she gave me when she stepped into the room. It was almost as if I'd hit her in the face with a sledge or something… Sure, I've broken my wrist once and had some stitches every now and then but. This time I was drugged so badly I was nodding off while talking to them." I frowned. "I really hurt her."

"Alex."

I cast a look over my shoulder and saw a man near the cemetery gate. He waved at me and I smiled. "One more minute."

"Your new fling?" Leon asked.

"He's a good guy," I said. "Even though he sounds like an idiot sometimes." I sighed deeply and rubbed my leg. "That's one thing that's been bothering me. Ever since Luis died, I can't stop thinking about him still lying there in that castle, just, rotting away. The thought that, after all he did for us, for me, I couldn't even give him a funeral. It just… keeps on bothering me."

"I'll see what I can do."

I looked up at him curiously. But he looked back determinately. "Thank you." I smiled. "I should get going. Best not to keep a doctor waiting."

"Alex," he said when I had already commenced my limping towards the gate. I halted and looked at him. He watched me sincerely. "I'm sorry about John."

Any other time, there would've been a nack to start shouting at him, to pull out a gun and shoot him in the head. But for some reason, at that point, my entire body was still and a weird calmness spread through my veins. I smiled feebly. "You did what you had to do."

"_Revenge doesn't lead to healing. Acceptance does."_

I smiled to myself and limped away. My escort gave Leon a friendly nod and then helped me back into the car.

"I swear to God, Alex, if anyone finds out I've taken you out of the hospital to visit a _grave_ I'll get my ass kicked."

"You would've gotten your ass kicked anyway, Ethan," I told him. I gazed out of the window dreamily and saw Leon still standing by the grave. He waved his hand at me and with a grin I raised mine as well, but instead of making the same friendly gesture, I turned it into a fake pistol and aimed it at Leon. "Pow," I mouthed and saw him smile. Then the engine started and we drove off.

Leon Kennedy turned back towards John's grave as soon as the car had disappeared out of sight. He tucked his hands into his pockets and sighed.

"I think she'll be fine, John," he told John's smiling feature, "for real this time."

* * *

**Queen Luana:** It's done! (screams) I hope you liked it. In case you didn't notice the "She'll be fine, for real this time" and "I promised John" quotes are references to chapter seven. I'm thinking about doing another fanfiction to elaborate on the life of Alex Grace. Show more of her backgrounds and such. I'll be writing it mostly for me, but I'll post it in case anyone should be interested. It'll mostly be about how she really met John, how they got together, the funeral etc. Oh and in case anyone should be wondering, the credits music I had in mind was _Foolish Games_ by Jewel. Anyway, I've had a lot of fun writing this story. I've been working on it for almost a year now and it turned out to be one of my more popular fanfics. Thanks for all your reviews and support and thanks to **boffy "That guy's throwing dynamite at me and I don't appreciate it" rox'** walkthrough on youtube. That guy rocks, check him out. Luana out.


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